My Life Began With You
by Mistress Megatron
Summary: Adventure must start with running away from home, but how much adventure is one girl looking for? Life's lessons are learned the hard way as Jessica struggles to figure out her life.
1. To Some Extent of Reason

I've been meaning to do this story for a long time as a gift to a dear friend of mine, The Phantom's Loving Angel. Her favorite character is Optimus Prime and I desperately wanted to do a story about him. So obviously I decided on a romance, but for the longest time I couldn't think of any ideas for it. Usually all my great ideas come to me in the shower, but when I finally got the idea for this one, it came during a hard time for my family.

The Phantom's Loving Angel, I present unto you this story and I hope you love it. I must thank you for being there for me, understanding me, being so supportive, and sending me all those great emails. Lylas!

Disclaimer: Transformers and all related characters are not mine and belong to Hasbro. Jessica Princeton (the main character in the story) belongs to The Phantom's Loving Angel.

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_Chapter One: To Some Extent of Reason_

Perhaps impulse is more powerful than reason. Often times one acts more on how they feel rather than what they're thinking. Of course if someone is after you, your first impulse is to run. You do it without thinking. Most of the time when we act on impulse we have things to regret afterwards. Maybe acting on impulse ties in with instinct. Acting on impulse, acting on instinct…the same thing. Acting without thinking, maybe that's better than thinking without acting. Impulse casts aside apathy, reason casts aside acting. Maybe giving yourself time to think about something could prove disastrous. It allows second thoughts to settle in. No one has time for second thoughts.

Jessica sat at the window looking outside at the weary world. Streaks of rain stained the window emitting a blurry image of the world. Her life felt blurry, and everything seemed cold, wet, and dark. Jessica was seventeen and a junior in high school. Pressure and stress were the only two words that defined her life right now. Pressure from her parents, classmates, peers, and teachers to complete assignments on time. The arduous stress of actually completing them. Not to mention other pressures like her job playing the piano at the Spindletop Mansion in Lexington, Kentucky.

Her parents weren't really helping her though. They noticed the girl was far off and distant, lost in her dreams. But they yelled at her all the time telling her to focus on her studies. Jessica focuses every drop of blood, sweat, and every breath on her studies. She desperately wanted some time to herself. She wanted time to dream and think and just be alone. Time to be herself and only herself where she wouldn't have to worry about anyone or anything else. The weary world would accept her.

Jessica wished it wasn't the outside world being blurred, but the inside. She felt as if neither of her parents understood her at all. The girl had dreams of being an actress performing on Broadway. It was her life's goal, and she had the voice and the spirit, she just lacked the energy to get there. And her parents stood in her way. They wanted more from her than just singing and acting. Jessica couldn't seem to convince them at all how great her dream could be.

The thought of running away dawned on her. If she ran away, she could get a job singing or playing the piano somewhere. But there were a lot more things to consider. Where would she go? She had family members in Phoenix, Arizona. How would she get there? Jessica had her license, and a car. What about money, food, and a place to sleep? She had a credit card for emergencies, which could pay for food. And if she got tired, she could pull over somewhere and rest.

The thrill of actually breaking away from her parental bonds that held her back from everything she hoped to accomplish was impossible to ignore. In all but two seconds Jessica decided that she would runaway. Grinning from ear to ear she went to her room and loaded a suitcase full of clothes. She took it out to her car then returned to the house to grab her purse and keys. She slipped on a pair of blue jeans and tennis shoes. Then after putting on a plain black sweatshirt, she tied her hair back and went back out to her car where she got in and drove away.

The girl could just see the newspaper headlines now: JESSICA PRINCETON LAST SEEN DRIVING WEST. She viewed it as an honor. How many other girls would love to last be seen driving west? Jessica was driving west in search of her future, her life. She would turn her life of nothing into something. Her fate lay down the road she was traveling, or so she believed. She couldn't have been more right.

It took Jessica a couple days to finally reach Arizona. It took her a long time to drive out of the rain, but she was finally able to do so once she reached the "God enriches" state. The entire time she thought about what she would say to her relatives once she knocked on the door and they opened it. She'd worry about that when the time came.

Jessica noticed the scenery changed as she drove further into the state. It was nothing but desert, she had a gut feeling she should have been in Phoenix long before now. Unnerved, she kept driving. Evening was fast approaching though, and there was no town, let alone any sort of civilization in sight. Between the last rays of sunlight, Jessica could see storm clouds on the horizon. The rain was back to torment her again. She didn't want to be caught alone in the desert during a storm so she pressed the gas pedal closer to the floor. No cops were around to catch her anyway.

As she sped down the road, something suddenly caught her eye. Intrigued, Jessica slowed and pulled over to the side of the road. Opening the glove box she pulled out a flashlight. Before she shut it though, she thought about taking the gun that was in there with her. Her mother had bought her the gun for self-defense. It was a small handgun, not much, but like every other gun, it could kill. Warily she grabbed it in her hand and got out of the car. The flashlight shown brightly as she walked over to the side of the road. Suddenly a flash of green was illuminated. Surprised, Jessica ran over to it.

When she reached it, she crouched down next to it realizing it was some sort of green panel with an "M" on it. Jessica had never seen anything like it before. Perhaps it had fallen from a car when it was passing by; that was the only logical thing she could think of as to where the panel came from. It dawned on her that the panel may not even be from earth at all.

A huge gust of sandy wind hit her suddenly causing her to fall backwards and land on her side. She dropped the flashlight causing it to break. Lightning flashed in the distance. She couldn't find her gun. Blinded by the darkness, she felt around for it. Jessica was too busy to notice a masked motorcyclist pull up along side her car. He revved his engine capturing the girl's attention. She stood with the panel in her arms.

"Something wrong?"

Jessica squinted to get a better look at him, "I came out here to look at something. I dropped my flashlight causing it to break and I can't find my gun."

"Maybe I can help you," he remarked. His voice was low, but not extremely low, and it was sort of raspy.

"Um, sure,"

The man came over having her permission. Jessica went back to looking for the gun turning her back to him. After only searching for a couple seconds, he was able to find it. He picked it up without telling her, and pocketed it. "So what is that you came out here to look for?" he asked monotonously.

Jessica looked at him seeing he was just standing there. Slowly she stood and faced him, "Just this panel that's all."

He glanced up at her causing light to flicker down his helmet, "Where'd you find that?"

"Right over here," she said pointing, "Are you going to help me find my gun?"

"That panel is more important than your gun," he responded than paused, "What's your name?"

Reluctantly she answered, "Jessica."

He chuckled lightly. Jessica got a bad vibe from him suddenly and took a step back towards her car. "Don't move," he ordered in his evil monotonous voice, "Or I'll shoot." He pulled out her gun and aimed it directly at her.

"What do you want?" Jessica asked frightened.

"I'm interested in the panel, but what I mostly want is you,"

"Why? I've done nothing wrong!" she protested.

"Of course you haven't, you were only stupid enough to fall into my trap. Now move away from the car,"

Slowly Jessica stepped away from her car. She failed to notice a patch of stars become blocked out. She watched him as he tossed the gun aside and ushered the word, "Transform!"

He jumped into the air and his motorcycle flew into the air with him. Jessica watched shell-shocked as the motorcycle and the man combined to form a giant metal robot. In disbelief she asked, "Who are you? What are you?"

"I'm known as Sideways, and I am a transformer from the planet Cybertron. What you have in your hands is a minicon,"

Fear and astonishment swept through her and Jessica suddenly made a run for her car. Sideways stepped over her and easily scooped up her car in his hand like it was nothing. Panic swept through Jessica as he effortlessly crushed the car and threw it over his shoulder. She was unable to make her legs work as Sideways clasped his hand around her and lifted her high above the safety of the ground.

"We're leaving human, you're the one we've been looking for,"

"We've?" she asked numbly and confused.

Another transformer came down from the skies and transformed into his robotic form remarking, "We've."

"Thrust," Sideways replied, "Nice of you to join us finally."

"Better late then never. Now let's go so we can carry on our business with this pathetic human,"

Whimpering she asked, "Just what do you mean by that?"

"It doesn't matter," Sideways responded squeezing her suddenly.

Jessica felt her ribs cracking and her shoulders popping out of place. She passed out from the pain. The fake minicon panel fell from her arms and onto the ground. Sideways and Thrust warped away with her.

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Jessica awoke sometime later lying on a cold metal table unable to sit up or move her arms or legs. She opened her eyes only to have them burned by a blinding white light.

"Finally awake?" came a voice.

Jessica recognized it and hissed, "Sideways."

He chuckled, "Very good dear, but I'm not the only one here with you."

"Thrust?"

"Correct," came Thrust's voice, "Now that she's awake shall we commence?"

"Of course,"

Jessica panicked, "Commence? Commence with what?"

"A small experiment," Sideways explained, "Don't worry, it shouldn't hurt you that much."

"What sort of experiment?"

"We developed this formula," Thrust told, "And we're curious to know what it does to humans like you. So it'll just be a simple process of injecting it into you and then observing you from there."

"Why me?"

"You were the human that fell into our trap," Thrust remarked, "Now hold still."

Fearing to move even the slightest bit, Jessica just laid there freezing. She felt a small prick in her arm and fluid rush in as Sideways injected the formula into her. Feeling nauseous, Jessica closed her eyes and prayed for sleep to relieve her. It didn't come and she felt the needle leave her arm.

Opening her eyes was the biggest mistake she could have made. The room appeared to be spinning, the lights seemed like they were flickering. An alarm deafened her suddenly and then darkness overcame her.

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And so ends this chapter, hope you liked it. Please review. 


	2. The Human Test Subject

Thank you all so much for the reviews. Here's the next chapter.

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_Chapter Two: The Human Test Subject_

Jessica struggled to regain consciousness. There were voices whispering around her, but just as she flared her eyes open, they would shut. During those brief seconds she was able to catch flickers of light, and glimpse the dark blurred images of gigantic figures. Giving up, she let her eyes remain closed and simply listened to what was going on around her.

"Is she alright Red Alert?"

"She's fine, it just looks like she's extremely tired. And it doesn't look like Sideways or Thrust did anything to harm her, but I think we should keep her around for a few days just to make sure,"

"That's fine by me, just let me know when she is fully conscious. There are a few things I would like to ask her,"

"As you wish Optimus,"

There were footsteps, a hiss, and then silence, with the exception of the humming of machinery in the room. Exhausted, Jessica returned to her peaceful slumber.

A couple hours later Jessica woke up. This time she was able to open her eyes and keep them open. Slowly she sat up taking in her surroundings. As she glanced around, she realized she wasn't in the same place that Sideways and Thrust had brought her to. The girl noticed a different transformer and calmly asked, "Who are you?"

Red Alert turned away from his work and looked at the human, "I am Red Alert. Don't worry; I have no intention of hurting you. Now, what is your name?"

"Jessica. Can you please tell me what's going on around here?"

"Optimus will just as soon as I give him the call to come here,"

Jessica didn't say anything in response so Red Alert proceeded to notify Optimus. It wasn't long until the bot arrived and Red Alert left the room to give them privacy. Optimus stood next to the bed on which Jessica was sitting and exclaimed, "I'm guessing you have just as many questions as I do. I promise to answer your questions just as long as you answer mine."

"Sounds fair enough,"

"Alright, what is your name?"

"Jessica, and I assume you're the one Red Alert calls Optimus?"

"Yes, I am Optimus Prime, leader of the autobots,"

Jessica gave him a confused look, "Autobots?"

Optimus proceeded to explain the differences between autobots and decepticons along with the war going on between them over the minicons. He also explained whom each and every autobot and decepticon was. Jessica seemed to grasp all the information he had just told her and asked, "But I don't understand. Why did Sideways and Thrust want me? And why am I here instead of with the decepticons?"

Optimus sighed, "Perhaps you should tell me your story before I answer those questions."

Jessica looked at her feet not wanting to tell him that she was a runaway. Instead she answered, "I was driving down this empty highway when I noticed something by the side of the road. So I pulled over and taking out my flashlight and gun, I got out to go see what it was. It turned out to be a panel of sorts, a minicon panel as Sideways called it. Anyway a gust of wind knocked me over causing me to drop my flashlight, which broke, and my gun. So I was looking for my gun when this man came offering me help. Not too long after that he threatened me telling me I had fallen into his trap and that I was to go with him. In the end, he revealed to me who he was, Thrust came, and they took me to their base."

"Did they do anything to you?"

"Thrust injected this formula of sorts into me. They don't know what it's going to do so they're merely testing it on me. After that I blacked out and now I'm here,"

"I see. We autobots detected the decepticons on earth and went up to their base to see what they were up to. That's when we found you and rescued you,"

"Well that answers one of my questions. But the one about Sideways and Thrust is still hanging there," Jessica exclaimed.

"Well, until Thrust and Sideways tell us themselves, that question will remain unanswered. Our top priority right now though is to figure out what this formula is that Sideways and Thrust injected into you and make sure it does you no harm," Optimus responded and then called Red Alert back into the room.

Red Alert came in immediately and Optimus explained to the medic what Jessica had told him about the formula. The medic's face went expressionless after the autobot leader told him the news about the formula. Optimus noticed and questioned, "Do you know what formula I'm talking about?"

"Unfortunately, I think I do, but I have to run a test on Jessica first to be sure," Red Alert explained as he plugged in a machine that would scan Jessica for any trace of the formula.

As he ran the scan Optimus continued, "What do you think it is?"

"I won't say anything until I know what it is for sure," the medic replied as the scan quickly finished up. Red Alert read the results and let out a heavy sigh, "Just as I thought."

"Well?" asked Jessica a bit impatiently.

"What they injected into you, Jessica is not just any formula. It's Formula X,"

"Formula X?" Jessica and Optimus both wondered in unison.

"Sideways and Thrust have tried to do this little experiment of theirs before. Except last time they used the formula on earth animals. Formula X is a chemical that they developed that is supposedly designed to more or less turn any sort of creature into a mindless loyal zombie brainwashed to obey the two decepticons," the medic stated.

Jessica was flabbergasted, "You mean I'm going to become some freak forced to serve them?"

"Probably not," Red Alert remarked, "You see, I've researched there experiment countless times. They've never had any of their test subjects respond in the ways that they had hoped to the formula."

"So is Jessica safe?" asked the autobot leader.

"I don't want to be the one to tell you this. Every single one of their test subjects have died," the medic replied, "And without any sort of cure, I don't think…I don't think that Jessica will have an outcome any different than that of Sideways and Thrust's previous test subjects."

The news cut through Jessica like a knife. It was now the second thoughts came slicing painfully through her. If she had just stayed home, this would have never happened to her. She had to force back the tears as she asked, "How long will it be until…my body can no longer fight off the formula?"

"According to the data from Sideways and Thrust's research, one to two months. Perhaps we should tell your family what is going on so—

"No," Optimus interrupted him harshly, "I will not allow Jessica to die as an experiment to those low life decepticons."

"Then what do you propose we do Optimus?" questioned the medic.

"We save her, no matter what," Optimus exclaimed glancing down at the human, "I suggest you get to work on developing a cure to the formula."

Red Alert grumbled something underneath his breath and went to his worktable where he began looking up information on the formula. Jessica looked up at Optimus and asked, "Well, I want to make the fullest of my life before I die, so maybe you can give me a tour of this place and then take me around town?"

Optimus smirked, "Why not? I've been meaning to find an excuse for taking a day off." He held out his hand to her.

Jessica looked at him quizzically for a second then realized he wanted her to climb into his hand. She always lived for the thrill of the moment and proceeded to climb into his hand and together they left the room.

Red Alert was left behind to grumble at finding a way to save Jessica.

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Yeah, it was a short chapter I know, but I'll get to work on the next one asap. Please review. 


	3. The Lethal Dose

Alright, I promised The Phantom's Loving Angel that I would update today. So, here's chapter three.

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_Chapter Three: The Lethal Dose_

Optimus set Jessica down once they were outside the base and proceeded to transform. He opened his cab door and Jessica climbed in. After making sure she had buckled her seat belt, Optimus started into the town.

"So just were are we?" Jessica asked looking out the window at the scenery.

"Desert Highlands, Arizona. Rad, Alexis, Carlos, Billy, and Fred are more familiar with the town so perhaps they can give you a more detailed tour sometime," Optimus stated answering her question.

"No, this is fine. I'd rather hitch a ride than walk any day,"

"That reminds me, last night we saw your car, and I don't think you're going to be driving it for quite a while,"

"Yeah, Sideways did quite a number on it," Jessica remarked and then asked, "I have a question, just how far are we from Phoenix?"

"Not that far, about 30 miles, 37 minute drive, unless you warp, why?"

"Because that's where I was heading, but then things sorta went differently,"

Optimus chuckled, "I guess so."

They arrived in the town and Optimus drove her around a bit so she could see what was there. Jessica was amazed at how much bigger it was than her hometown in Kentucky. Optimus then asked, "Since you're going to be staying with us for a while, is there anything you would like to get while you're here?"

"I wish, but all my money is in my car,"

"I see, well, maybe Alexis can help you out when it comes to getting clothes,"

"Optimus, I have a suitcase full of clothes in my car,"

"Were you going on vacation or something?"

"I guess you could say that,"

Optimus got on an exit that led out of the town and back towards the base, "What do you say since we have plenty of time to kill, that we go locate your car so you can get the things you need from it?"

"Sounds like a plan, just as long as you're willing to pry the doors off so I can actually get in the car and find my stuff,"

Optimus snickered, "As you wish."

The autobot leader then took her to the deserted highway that Jessica had been traveling down the previous night. It wasn't long until they came across the remains of her car. Jessica was shocked by the way it looked, completely crushed. She had a feeling that finding her suitcase in that pile of junk would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Optimus stopped and Jessica unbuckled herself and got out. She walked over to her car and the autobot transformed. Optimus picked up the crushed metal that used to be a car and examined it, "So just what does your suitcase look like?"

"Like a duffel bag. It's black,"

Optimus began to peel the car apart. Shattered glass came raining down and Jessica quickly jumped out of the way to avoid it.

"Sorry about that," the autobot leader stated.

"Just give me a warning next time,"

"There won't be a next time where I put you in danger like that," he said leaning down and lifting her. He placed her on his shoulder and continued dismantling the car.

Suddenly as he pulled back one piece, a black bag fell from the car onto the ground. Jessica glanced at it and immediately stated, "That's it!"

Optimus set Jessica back down on the ground saying, "That was easier than I thought it would be. Perhaps we should take the car back to the base with us that way if anyone drives by they won't wonder."

"It's fine by me seeing I really don't have a use for it now, think someone could possibly fix it up?" Jessica asked hoping.

"After the damage I inflicted to it, I don't know. It'll give Red Alert something to do in his free time," Optimus replied putting the wrecked car inside his portable base.

Jessica looked down at her duffel bag at the mention of the medic's name and said softly, "Do you think Red Alert will really be able to find a cure for me?"

"Jessica, I don't want you to think about that,"

The girl felt tears rushing to her eyes and quickly squeezed them shut so none would leak out, "I can't help it."

At that moment, Optimus wished he could somehow shrink down to her size and put an arm around her and say everything was going to be okay. He knew though, that was impossible. Not only couldn't he shrink down to her size, but also he didn't know if everything was going to be alright. He also wasn't quite sure why he was having these thoughts about her either. Ignoring his thoughts for the moment he asked, "How about we get your mind off it and go do something else?"

"Like what?" Jessica questioned interested.

"We could go back to the base and I could give you a tour and introduce you to everybody,"

"Alright, just as long as we do something interesting after that,"

"Like?"

"Are you familiar with video games?" Jessica asked smirking.

"I play them with the kids from time to time, why?"

"Are you any good?"

Optimus saw that she was challenging him and remarked, "We have this one video game back at the base that Hotshot designed. You can chose whether or not you want to be an autobot or decepticon, and then you duel against another player. I'm pretty sure I could easily beat you at that one."

"You want a bet tough guy?"

Optimus smiled behind his mask, "Are you challenging me?"

Jessica smiled crossing her arms, "You betcha. What do you say after this little tour you give me we have a little duel of our own?"

"You're on," Optimus exclaimed transforming and opening his door so Jessica could get in.

Once Jessica was settled, they went back to the base and Optimus proceeded to give her a tour and introduce her to everybody as they went along. The tour took longer than they expected and was late afternoon by the time they got done. Afterwards though, they immediately began playing the video game.

They decided to do the best two out of three. Optimus won the first duel since Jessica was still getting used to the controls. But Jessica was a quick learner and managed to beat Optimus in the second duel. The third duel however was the one that took the longest. After fifteen minutes dragged by Optimus exclaimed, "You're better at battle strategies then I thought you were."

"Hey, I play a lot of video games when I'm bored and there's nothing else to do,"

Finally, after another fifteen minutes there was a victor. It was Jessica. Optimus was a little stunned since no one had beat him at that game before, not even one of his own men. Out of his bewilderment he asked, "How'd you do that? I never lose this game."

"I guess I'm just the better dueler, that's all. Well, maybe some other time, I'll see you around Optimus," Jessica remarked heading towards the door.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"I figured I catch the sunset since I haven't seen one in Arizona before. Care to join me?"

"If you don't mind," Optimus replied.

"Not at all,"

"Well then," he said gently scooping her up and placing her on his shoulder, "We'll be able to get there faster if I carry you."

"Alright, but you better not be thinking you're becoming my legs now. I have to walk if I want to stay fit,"

"You can walk all you want when we get outside," Optimus responded and left the room with her. He then took her outside the base and up the side of the mountain where they could see the sunset good, but didn't have to worry about being seen since rocks hid them.

Optimus sat down on one of the larger rocks and heard Jessica sigh. He glanced at her asking, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's just that I've never seen a sunset quite like this before,"

"What are the sunsets like where you come from?"

"Same old same old, they're never as spectacular as this," Jessica remarked.

"Speaking of which, just where are you from?"

"Kentucky," Jessica answered plainly.

"I see. So what were you coming to do here?" Optimus questioned.

"I was going to visit some of my relatives in Phoenix until I fell into Sideways and Thrust's trap," she explained.

"Alone?"

"Yeah, I'm seventeen, I can handle myself," Jessica stated in her own defense.

"Are you sure about that, I mean after what happened last night and everything,"

She smiled lightly, "What happened last night was just a minor setback in my independence. Even though I may not live to brag about it."

"Jessica, I don't want you to worry about it," Optimus said in a serious tone.

"But Optimus, how can I not worry about it? It's not your life; it's my life that's at stake. If Red Alert doesn't come up with a cure, just what will happen to me?" Jessica asked and then stated in a quieter voice, "I don't want to die. I'm only seventeen."

Optimus felt a tug at his spark and he knew that she was right. How could he tell her not to worry when she was literally dying? And she was only seventeen; she still had a countless number of years to live. Angry at Sideways and Thrust for doing this to her he clenched his fist making a silent vow to make the two pay for doing this to her.

"I won't let you die,"

"Optimus, you can't stop death,"

"I can't, but perhaps Red Alert will be able to,"

Jessica faintly smiled, "No, he can't stop death, but maybe he can cheat it."

Optimus smirked, "Well then that's what he'll do. He'll cheat death for you."

"Optimus," Jessica asked shifting on his shoulder, "How come you don't want me to die?"

The autobot leader was unprepared for the question and really wasn't sure what to say. Why was it that he didn't want Jessica to die? He felt attached to her as though a friend would be, but that wasn't quite right. Finally he replied, "Well Jess, you are my friend, and I just don't think it is fair that your life should only end in its beginning."

"Oh," she simply remarked.

"What? Need I say more?"

"Do you have more to say?"

"Yes, but I don't know how to say it,"

Jessica looked up at the stars that were coming out, "What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure how to describe it either,"

"I see," she said.

Feeling bad about not telling her the autobot leader turned his gaze to the stars as well. "Jess, you see that really bright star over there?" He asked pointing to it.

"Yeah,"

"That's Cybertron,"

"Wow, it's so far away. What's Cybertron like?"

"It's basically similar to earth, except there are no humans there, there are no trees or any sort of plant life, and everything's metal. Oh, and there aren't any sunsets either,"

"No sunsets? Does that mean there's no sun?"

Optimus chuckled, "Yes there's a sun, but it's so far away it really can't be seen like it can from here."

"I'd like to see Cybertron sometime,"

"And you will, I promise," Optimus stated, "What do you say we head back inside and see how Red Alert is doing?"

"Alright, it is getting a little chilly out here anyway,"

Optimus went back inside the base and to the med bay with Jessica on his shoulder. Red Alert looked up as they came in with a look of dismay on his face. Jessica couldn't see it, but Optimus knew something was up. Setting the girl on the floor the autobot leader suggested, "Jessica, why don't you wait outside while I talk to Red Alert for a minute."

Knowing something was wrong when Optimus asked her that, she willingly complied so she wouldn't have to hear the bad news just yet. As soon as she was out and the doors of the med bay shut, Optimus turned to Red Alert and asked, "Did you find anything?"

"I did a little bit more research on the formula that they injected into Jessica," Red Alert stated, "Also I did a little hacking into Sideways and Thrust's files to find out more on the formula."

"And?"

"And I found out nothing but bad news. It turns out Thrust and Sideways weren't at all happy with the formula's results when they used it on earth animals. So, they added a few things to it that are more lethal, and let it mutate into a more powerful form,"

"What does that mean?"

"It means that there is no possible way I can come up with a cure for it unless I take the antibodies from a person who has survived it and inject them into Jessica. Problem is, anyone who has every had this formula injected into them has died, and their isn't anyone to get antibodies from," Red Alert explained, "But that's not all."

Sighing heavily Optimus asked, "What else is there?"

"Since the formula is so much more lethal, it's not going to do anything to Jessica but poison her. Forget her living one to two months. She's only got about seven to fourteen days,"

"There's got to be something we can do to save here though,"

"Like what?"

"Make her a transformer,"

Red Alert pondered this for a moment, "I guess it's worth a try, but I can't guarantee anything."

"Just get to work on developing something, I will not allow her to die,"

"As you wish Optimus, but I'm not going to be the one to tell her what's going on,"

"Then I guess I will," and with that Optimus left the med bay to tell Jessica how her life was in a turn for the worst.

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Well, this chapter was longer. Please review!! 


	4. The Power of Friendship

Yeah, it's been a few days. At least the reviews and stuff are making it back to the inboxes. Thanks to all of you who are reviewing.

* * *

_Chapter Four: The Power of Friendship _

Jessica was waiting directly outside the med bay when Optimus suddenly came out. She hadn't heard what was going on, but from the look on the autobot leader's face she knew something was terribly wrong. Swallowing hard she looked up at Optimus asking, "So just how bad am I?"

Optimus was slow to reply but finally answered in a rather quiet tone, "Bad. Red Alert found out a few more things about that formula."

Jessica was afraid to ask but did anyway, "Like what?"

"Sideways and Thrust gave you a more powerful version of it. It has more lethal toxins in it that have been allowed to mutate. They basically injected a poison into you,"

"So that means," Jessica stated looking downwards, "I don't have as much time to live as I thought I did."

"You got it," Optimus said glumly.

"Just how long do I have?"

"One…one to two weeks,"

Jessica felt all the air sucked out of her lungs suddenly and collapsed to a sitting position at Optimus's feet. Optimus was alarmed and asked concerned, "You alright?"

"I'm fine," she responded as soon as the air started to return. She had just been so shocked from that news she nearly fainted. Jessica waited for her head to clear.

Optimus quickly explained what else the medic had said; "Red Alert said he doesn't have enough time to come up with a cure now."

Jessica looked up at him, tears threatened to spill from her eyes, "So I am going to die? You said you wouldn't let me!"

"Jessica, calm down,"

"You expect me to be calm when your saying how much longer I have left to live?" Jessica hissed standing and running away from him. She headed towards the exit of the base.

Optimus watched her as she made a run for it and then quickly went after her before she got too far away.

* * *

Jessica exited the base and paused for a minute to look up at the starry night sky. Why did the world have to be so cruel to her? Why did Sideways and Thrust have to inject that formula into her? If only she hadn't have runaway…if only reason were stronger than impulse.

She wandered over to the spot where her and Optimus had watched the sunset. After managing to climb up one of the boulders, she sat down and looked over Desert Highlands. Jessica couldn't stop the tears now as they flowed gently from the corners of her eyes. "Why did I have to do this to myself?" she wondered out loud, "If only I had just stayed home."

"Jessica, this isn't your fault," came a soft voice from behind her.

The girl whirled around only to see Optimus standing there. She then turned her attention back to the town, "Can't you just leave me alone to die?"

"You really think a friend would you let you die?"

"There's nothing that Red Alert, let alone you can do to save me,"

"Haven't I told you that I'm not going to let you die? There is something we can do," Optimus remarked approaching her.

Jessica heard his footsteps behind her getting closer and inched forward on the rock she was sitting on. If she went to far though, she'd fall off and end up rolling down the rocky hillside and probably to her death. Jessica carefully balanced herself and asked, "Just what can you do?"

"Turn you into a transformer,"

The girl was quiet for a few moments, "Have you ever turned a human into a transformer before?"

"Well, I haven't,"

"I meant Red Alert,"

"No, but he has the technology do so,"

"Great, I'm going to be another science experiment," Jessica sneered sarcastically.

"It's the only thing we can do to save your life. It's either that, or death,"

Jessica was quiet for a while, thinking about her options. There really wasn't much to think about though, either accept a new body or accept death. If only she hadn't have runaway…

"Optimus, what about my family?"

"Well," he said sitting down on a boulder next to her, "I guess we'll have to tell them what's going on."

"What if you gave me the ability to transform back into my human self?"

Optimus rubbed his chin thinking, "You know, that's a great idea. Are your relatives expecting you in Phoenix soon?"

Jessica was silent for a minute, "No."

The autobot leader was confused by this, "Is it a surprise visit?"

"I guess you could say that,"

"Jessica, is there something you're not telling me?"

Once again the girl was silent. Slowly she uncurled her legs from the Indian style position she was sitting in and stretched them carefully. "It's not important," she mumbled.

Optimus barely heard her, "Do your parents know you left?"

"I guess you won't be happy until I admit that I ran away, right?"

"Jessica," Optimus groaned seeing how severe the situation was, "That means your family is going to be looking for you."

"Well, they're not going to find me, I won't let them,"

Optimus put a hand to his forehead in exasperation and exclaimed, "Let's just get back in the base. We'll talk about this later."

"I'm not quite ready to go back in the base yet," she remarked, "You can, but I'm not."

"Don't make me carry you,"

"Five more minutes, please?" Jessica asked putting on her best puppy dogface. She wasn't quite sure Optimus would see it in the dark.

Apparently he did though and he softly chuckled, "Fine, but only five more minutes."

Jessica thought for a few moments and then questioned, "If I let you turn me into a transformer, could I decide what I look like?"

"Well, you can decide your colors and what you want to transform into. I don't think Red Alert would mind creating you so you'd be a triple changer,"

"Triple changer?"

"You can transform into three different things. In your case it would be your human form, robot form, and vehicle mode," Optimus explained.

"I see," Jessica replied, "When can I choose my colors and stuff?"

"Right now if you like, and then we can tell them to Red Alert,"

"In that case then, my favorite colors are red, purple, blue, and black. I don't mind my vehicle mode is, but I _must_ be something fast," Jessica told him.

The autobot leader smiled behind his mask, "Then being a semi truck like me wouldn't appeal to you would it?"

"Not really,"

"Something fast," Optimus mused rubbing his chin, "You could be one of those really fast sport cars, or a jet."

"I don't know," Jessica exclaimed crossing her arms trying to think, "I would like to fly."

"So a jet then?"

She pondered it for a moment, "Sounds good."

"Then a jet it is," Optimus remarked, "And since the five minutes has expired I say we head back into the base now."

Jessica let out a small groan, "Fine."

"Good, you're actually cooperating,"

Jessica smirked at him and stood up from the rock. A bout of dizziness hit her suddenly from out of nowhere. Having nothing to catch her balance on Jessica began to fall off the rock. Just as she was about to fall off the rock, Optimus's hand grasped her gently stopping her fall. She looked up at him murmuring, "Thanks."

"You alright?"

"Just a little dizzy,"

"It must be the formula is already starting to affect you," Optimus stated concerned, "I'm taking you to Red Alert."

"Optimus, you really don't have to do all this for me,"

"That's what friend's are for," Optimus said gently.

Jessica shivered as a breeze hit her, "I didn't know it got so cold at night in the desert."

The autobot leader picked her up and held her to his chest to try and provide her some warmth. He then took her inside the base and headed to the med bay. As they walked, they didn't say anything. Jessica looked up at Optimus without him noticing. She was surprised that he was so…warm and not cold like metal should be. She had also been a bit surprised he was trying so hard to keep her alive.

Yes, she would definitely consider him a friend. She was just curious; did friends really care _this_ much for each other?

* * *

Another chapter done. Please review!! 


	5. Talking In Your Sleep

Yeah, it's been a few days since I last updated, I apologize. School has been hectic lately. I just recently got assigned 250 multiple-choice questions and 10 essays in my global studies class. Right now I only have 200 questions and 8 essays left. Wish me luck on getting those done.

* * *

_Chapter Five: Talking In Your Sleep_

Jessica awoke the next morning to heavy footsteps outside her door. Groaning she pulled the covers over her head and tried to go back to sleep. Instead, someone knocked on her door preventing her from returning to her dream world. "Come in," she groaned.

The doors hissed open and someone came in and over to the bed as the doors hissed shut. It turned out to be the autobot leader. He sat down carefully on her giant bed and said, "I hope I didn't wake you."

"You did," she murmured, "But I can't sleep forever…yet."

Optimus shook his head, "Jess, I'm not going to let you die. We've been over this. Now I told Red Alert the colors you wanted to be."

"Violet red with blue optics and yellow and black highlights?"

"Yes, you sure changed your mind quickly from when we were outside last night when you said you wanted those other colors,"

"Hey, hardly anyone can make up their mind now a days," Jessica retorted, "Can you excuse me while I change my clothes?"

"Of course," Optimus remarked heading for the door, "Let me know when you're finished."

"Yes _sir_," she responded sarcastically causing Optimus to shake his head again as he left the room. As soon as the doors shut, Jessica grabbed some clothes, jumped down from the bed and changed into them. She then went into the bathroom where she took care of her hygiene and then left her room to see Optimus waiting patiently outside the door.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," she stated.

"You didn't, now since it's later I want a full explanation as to why you ran away,"

Jessica groaned, "All of sudden I'm feeling really dizzy, can't this wait Optimus?"

The autobot leader crossed his arms, "Nope."

"Okay then," she remarked turning on her heel and making a run for it. She knew it was kind of pointless trying to run away from a transformer when all they had to do was take a couple steps to catch up, but it was worth a try. Jessica raced pass the med bay and headed for the exit of the base. If only she could make it outside…

As the exit neared, the girl looked behind herself to see if Optimus was following her or not. She gasped realizing he was directly behind her. Not wanting to be caught, Jessica sprinted as fast as she could to the exit…and made it right before Optimus's hand clasped around her.

Thinking she was safe now, Jessica stopped running and merely walked out into the wilderness outside the base. There was a forest nearby, and Jessica hoped that if she hung out there for a few hours, Optimus would forget about her running away. Thus, the girl disappeared into the forest just as the autobot leader appeared outside the base.

"That girl," he muttered under his breath the shouted, "Jessica! Come out here now, what happens if the formula kicks in again?!" Optimus didn't get any sort of response and was forced to go on looking for her. He figured he'd start searching in the forest since that was the most reasonable spot for her to hide.

* * *

After an hour or so had gone by, Jessica sat down tired on the forest floor. Her breath was heavy, and she was covered in sweat. Wiping some sweat from her brow, Jessica glanced around for water. If she was lucky, she could find a pond or something and take a quick swim.

A glare caught her eye suddenly and she noticed a small pond not to far away. Smiling, she got up and went over to the pond. Jessica stripped down until she had nothing but her undergarments on and jumped eagerly into the pond. The water was cool, and it felt good on her sweating body.

Suddenly she heard voices in the distance and quickly got out of the pond and put her clothes back on. She was just about to leave the area when she heard a masculine voice call out behind her, "Hey! What are you doing here?"

Jessica stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around to face two boys, "I was just cooling off by the pond over there. I'm leaving right now."

One of the boys eyed her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable and remarked, "No, stay here for a few more minutes. You haven't done anything wrong…not yet anyway."

This made Jessica even more anxious to leave, "No thanks really, I've got to be going."

The one ignored her and stated, "My name's James, this is my friend Tyler, what's yours?"

"J—Jessica," she stammered, "Nice to meet you, now I'll be going."

James ran up to her as she went to leave and wrapped an arm around her shoulders firmly preventing the girl from going anywhere. Jessica swallowed hard, "What do you want?"

"What do you say you and I and possibly Tyler have a little fun?"

"Just what do you mean by 'fun'?" she asked nervous.

He pulled a knife out of his pocket, "How about you let me ask the questions from here on out?" He held the knife to her throat and ordered Tyler to come over and hold her down so she wouldn't go anywhere.

As Tyler held Jessica back, she screamed. That angered James and he slashed her arm with the knife producing a deep bloody cut, "Shut up and I won't do that again."

Jessica closed her eyes wishing once again that she had never runaway.

* * *

Optimus was perusing the forest for Jessica in his vehicle mode when he heard her scream. He felt his mech fluids freeze and realized the scream had sounded not to far ahead of him. Quickly he rushed forward hoping he'd find Jessica alright and not in any sort of danger.

* * *

Jessica waited for whatever James had in store for her to just hurry up and happen and it didn't. She heard a scraping noise and opened her eyes to see James sharpening his knife on a rock smirking at her. Jessica suddenly felt extremely nauseated and numb. Who would've thought they'd go into a forest only to be murdered?

Suddenly a horned blared two deafening times startling James, Tyler, and Jessica. Seeing Tyler was distracted, the girl broke out of his grasp and tried to make her way over to Optimus. She stopped though when James threatened to throw the knife at her.

Optimus must have seen this and shouted in a threatening voice, "Get away from her or I'll run you over and dump your bodies in that pond!"

Heeding the warning, James and Tyler ran into the forest not looking behind themselves once. Once they were gone, Jessica collapsed to the ground trembling in fright at what had _almost_ happened to her. Optimus transformed and gently scooped her up in his hand holding her up to his face, "What happened?"

Jessica looked up at him ashamed of what she had done and whispered, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have runaway from you like that and I shouldn't have come out here—

"Are you alright?"

Jessica hid her bleeding arm behind her back, but this action didn't go unnoticed by the autobot leader. "Let me see your arm," he ushered.

Reluctantly the girl held her bleeding arm out to him, "It's only a scratch, I'll be alright."

"By Primus Jessica, why'd you run? Didn't I tell you I don't want you to die? Why do you keep putting yourself in harms way?" he demanded to know.

Jessica cringed at his harsh tone and muttered once again, "I'm sorry."

"When are you going to learn?" he continued, "I'm not going to hurt you and neither are any of the other autobots."

Jessica buried her face in her hands unable to hold back the tears, "I'm sorry Optimus. You've got to understand I don't purposely put myself in dangerous situations. Do you really think I planned this? Do you really think I planned to have Sideways and Thrust inject that formula into me?"

Optimus saw her point and held her to her chest to try and bring her some comfort, "if there's anyone that should be apologizing, I guess it should be me. C'mon, let's get back to the base so Red Alert can fix up that arm of yours."

"Alright," Jessica sighed in response and wiped her tears away.

The autobot leader set her on the ground and transformed into his vehicle mode. Jessica climbed in, buckled her seat belt, and Optimus started exiting the forest. After a few minutes of an uncomfortable silence Optimus spoke up, "Now that I've got you cornered, why did you runaway from home?"

The girl sighed realizing she mine as well tell now since Optimus had saved her life and she owed him something, "It's because my parents don't understand me at all. They scorn my dreams and ambitions and they're never happy with what I do. So, I got sick of not fitting in and decided to runaway to live my dreams."

"And just what are your dreams?"

"I want to be a singer on Broadway. I've got the voice and I've got the talent, now all I have to do is get there,"

"You know, now that you're going to become a transformer, you might never make it there. Even though you will have your human form as one of your transforming modes, people are going to grow suspicious over time since you're not going to age,"

"Sweet, immortality. Forever will I be young,"

Optimus chuckled, "If you're not careful though, you could still die."

"I thought you weren't going to let me die,"

"Well, I don't know if I can always be there for you," the autobot leader confessed, "Once you become a transformer, you'll be trained, and pretty much on your own."

"That's how I wanted it to be in the first place," Jessica scoffed pretending not to be hurt by Optimus's statement.

"I didn't mean it that way, I just meant that I won't be around you as much. As leader of the autobots—

"You have other duties," Jessica exclaimed finishing his sentence.

"Precisely," Optimus stated.

Jessica didn't know why, but it bothered her that once she became a transformer and was trained that she wouldn't be able to hang out with Optimus as much as she was now. That made her wonder, "Then how come you have time for me now?"

Optimus was caught off guard by the question and then answered, "I try to see you whenever I possibly can. Right now the decepticons have been quiet and no minicons have been detected. I don't know how long this resting period is going to last though. That's the only reason why I've had to see you."

"Oh," Jessica remarked then asked, "Why are you so concerned about me?"

"Your my friend, your not like anyone else I've ever known either,"

The girl decided to toy with him, "You think I'm special don't you?"

"I guess,"

"Sounds like you got a crush Optimus," Jessica teased.

The autobot leader chuckled, "Or are you just hoping I have one?"

Jessica was unprepared for the question and stated without confidence, "No."

Optimus chuckled again and they went in silence back to the autobot base. The autobot leader took Jessica to the med bay where Red Alert bandaged up her arm. The girl then asked, "Hey Red, how's my body coming along?"

"It's coming," Red Alert stated, "It should be done in a couple days."

"Well make it quick," Jessica complained, "You don't want me dying on you now do you?"

"No," the medic replied in a bored tone, "If you really want me to get it done, why don't you go on and give me some privacy?"

"If you really wanted me to leave so bad, you could've just said so,"

"C'mon Jessica, why don't we go find you something to eat?" Optimus stated intervening on the argument.

"But I'm not hungry," the girl protested as Optimus lifted her up and placed her on his shoulder.

Together they exited the med bay. Red Alert sighed happily finally having some peace and quiet.

* * *

Optimus set Jessica down on the floor when they arrived in the mess hall and she eagerly ran over to one of the fridges and nearly devoured everything that was in it before she was full. Optimus was a bit surprised and stated, "I guess you were hungry after all."

"Yeah, I guess. I was so engrossed with everything going on around here I forgot to eat,"

"Well you can't keep doing that. Three meals a day for you,"

"Oh so you want me to get fat?" Jessica complained again.

Optimus sighed giving up and watched as the girl yawned, "Tired?"

Jessica nodded her head, "I guess I could use an afternoon nap."

The autobot leader smiled behind his mask and picked her up and placed her on his shoulder. He then proceeded to carry Jessica to her room and tuck her into her bed. He bade her sweet dreams and stayed with her until she fell asleep. Just as he was about to leave the room he heard Jessica mumble in her sleep, "Love you Optimus."

Optimus couldn't help but smile at the thought that Jessica was having sweet dreams about him.

* * *

Thank you to everyone who is reviewing, it means a lot to me. Hope you liked this chapter and please leave a review!! 


	6. The Optimist and the Pessimist

Sorry for taking so long to update, I know I'm constantly saying that, but I've been busy. Don't worry, June 20 at 12:15pm I will be free until school starts back up again. And about those 200 multiple-choice questions and 10 essays, I've got 50 questions and 4 essays left now. Just give me two more weeks and I'll have them done.

* * *

_Chapter Six: The Optimist and the Pessimist_

Jessica awoke at about four thirty the next morning. She was too hot and shed off some of the covers that were causing the excessive heat, but it didn't help. The girl felt like crap, her body ached and seemed useless. An extreme thirst for water was tormenting her as she rolled over trying to get more comfortable. Jessica had a fever, how high it was though, she didn't know.

She was still awake at seven o'clock when Optimus quietly came in. He saw she was awake and sat down gently on the bed. "How are you this morning?" he asked noticing she looked rather pale.

"Sick," she murmured, but loud enough for him to hear.

The autobot leader stiffened a bit. She had been there two days and three nights, it made sense that the formula was taking effect now. Especially if she only had five to twelve days left. "How sick?" he questioned.

"I've got a fever, my body hurts, and I'm tired, can you just leave me alone while I try to go back to sleep?"

"I'm going to go talk to Red Alert, I'll send Hotshot in here to keep an optic on you,"

"Honestly Optimus, I'm not that bad, and Hotshot will just talk the entire that he's in here,"

"Well it's either him or Smokescreen since the other autobots are busy, now what's your choice?"

Smokescreen was kind of like Hotshot, he wasn't as talkative though, but he was more aggressive then gentle. At least Hotshot knew how to be gentle. "I'll go with Hotshot," she finally answered.

"Alright," Optimus replied calling Hotshot to the room via his comlink and then left the room after telling Jessica he wouldn't be too long.

Jessica waited patiently for Hotshot to get there; she wasn't too thrilled about him coming. While she waited, she managed to crawl out of her bed and get dressed and take care of her personal hygiene. Then she crawled back into the bed just as Hotshot came in.

Hotshot looked at her for a sec and then exclaimed, "So, you're a little under the weather huh?"

Jessica sat up in the bed, knowing she wasn't going to get any sleep with him here and responded sarcastically, "What ever made you guess?"

"Hey now, don't get sarcastic with me,"

"Can you blame me? I woke up at 4:30 this morning sick and I really don't want to be disturbed right now hint, hint,"

Hotshot smirked, "Well I'm not going anywhere, I have orders by Optimus to watch you until he gets back."

"I know," she groaned irritated, "Just shut up so I can sleep."

"Primus, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,"

"You're not making me feel any better," Jessica stated sinking back down into the softness of the bed.

"I wasn't given orders to make you feel better," Hotshot protested and then turned his back to Jessica for a second looking for a chair.

Jessica saw how he wasn't looking, and if she wanted to sleep, she figured she'd have to leave the room to find someplace quieter where no one would disrupt her. Quietly she climbed off the bed and darted out the door.

Hotshot turned around just in time to catch Jessica running out the door and groaned putting a hand to his forehead. "Just perfect," he muttered irritably and left the room to go catch the girl.

* * *

Red Alert looked up from the body he was working on as Optimus entered the med bay. Wiping the oil and grease from his hands on a cloth, Red Alert asked, "Something up Optimus?"

"Yes, I just visited with Jessica and apparently she's sick with a fever," Optimus explained briefly.

"I'm guessing the formula is starting to take its course on her," Red Alerted stated turning back to the body.

"Is there anything you can do?"

"I am doing something right now,"

"I meant to make her feel better,"

"I'm sorry Optimus, but nothing I give her is going to take away any pain she's suffering. The formula Sideways and Thrust injected into her is so powerful, everything I have against it is worthless now,"

Optimus sensed the medic's anger and frustration as he said that and not wanting to irritate him more, the autobot leader asked, "How do humans take of their fevers?"

"They take medicine, drink a lot of fluids, and most importantly they rest," Red Alert answered, "Those all sound like good things Jessica should do, but I don't think any of them are going to help her any."

"It's worth a try. How's the body coming?"

"It's coming, I should be done in the next couple of days, I just hope Jessica hold on that long,"

"She's a strong girl, she will," Optimus said trying to think positively.

"Keep an optic on her for me, we don't want her running off anymore, especially now that the virus is revealing itself within her,"

"Will do, I'll see you later Red Alert," the autobot leader remarked and then left the med bay heading back to Jessica's room.

* * *

Jessica disappeared around a corner and slipped into the shadows hoping that Hotshot wouldn't notice her. She watched as he rounded the corner and kept running down the hallway. She waited until she couldn't hear his footsteps any more and quickly darted back the way she came.

As she ran up the hallway, the fever began taking its toll on her. Jessica knew she couldn't run much farther without passing out. _Well,_ she thought, _if I pass out at least I'll be asleep._ Thus she kept running towards her room. But she came across the Rad, Carlos, and Alexis's hangout first.

The girl peered in and instantly noticed it was empty, dark, and most importantly, quiet. There was a sofa inside and Jessica eagerly entered the room and collapsed on the sofa. Her body was throbbing, and she could hear her heart pounding in her chest. Breathing deeply, Jessica tried to calm her sore and sick body. She only succeeded in fainting.

* * *

Optimus got back to the room only to discover neither Jessica nor Hotshot were there. Annoyed at that fact, the autobot leader called up Hotshot on his comlink asking, "Hotshot, where are you and Jessica?"

Hotshot was slow to reply, "I was watching her like you said Optimus. I turned my back for a second to find a chair and the next second she was out the door. I've been trying to find her."

The autobot leader groaned, "Not again. Keep looking for her Hotshot; I'll look around for her as well. Let me know if you find her."

"You got it sir,"

"Alright, over and out," Optimus remarked ending the transmission and leaving the room to go find Jessica.

* * *

A couple hours later, Optimus was ready to start looking outside the base for Jessica thinking that she might have left again. He was heading towards the exit when he came by the kids hangout. The autobot leader noticed that the lights were off and it was as silent as the grave in there.

Curious to know whether the kids were in their playing a game in the dark or something, he walked in and turned on the lights. He saw the room was empty, and he also saw Jessica sound asleep on the sofa.

Smiling behind his facemask, Optimus went over to Jessica and gently nudged her with his hand saying, "Jessica, wake up."

The girl stirred and groaned, "Optimus."

The autobot noticed Jessica looked quite out of it and decided not to harass her about running away again. Instead he asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Worse," she confessed opening her eyes and rolling over on her back to see the autobot leader better.

"Come on, let me take you back to your room, you'll be more comfortable and no one will be there to disturb you,"

"Alright, but I'm going to need a glass of water, Tylenol, a thermometer, and a good back massage,"

"What's wrong with your back?"

"It's really sore. I've always had back trouble, but the pain's really flared up now that I'm sick," Jessica explained, "Now can you get me those things?"

"I'll talk to Red Alert, and if doesn't have anything I'll talk to the kids,"

"Alright," Jessica sighed tired and sick.

Optimus gently lifted her in his hand and carefully stroked her back with his finger to try and provide her some comfort. He then walked her back to her room and laid her on the bed. He tucked her in and left the room to get the things Jessica wanted. Along the way he radioed Hotshot and told him that he had found Jessica.

* * *

Red Alert was in the process of welding some of the armor together when his leader returned into the room. The medic didn't bother to turn away from his work as he asked, "What is it now sir?"

"Jessica wants Tylenol and a thermometer," Optimus stated.

"What, are you turning into her servant now?" Red Alert questioned.

Optimus ignored his comment knowing the bot hadn't slept the last few nights since he had been so busy with Jessica's new body. When he didn't say anything Red Alert spoke up, "Look in the cabinet over there on the wall."

The autobot leader walked over to the cabinet Red Alert had directed him to and opened it. He found a bottle labeled Tylenol, but it was so small he knew he couldn't pick it up. Instead, he called his minicon Sparkplug into the room and his minicon got it for him. Optimus also found the thermometer, which was just as small as the Tylenol bottle, so he had Sparkplug get that for him too.

He and his minicon then left the med bay and went to the mess hall where Sparkplug fetched a glass of cold water. Then Optimus and his minicon returned to Jessica's room where she was given what she had requested.

Jessica swallowed two pills of Tylenol and then took a few gulps of the water. She set the glass down on a stand next to her bed. Optimus sat down on her bed careful not to disrupt Jessica.

"Are you going to be alright?"

"Maybe I'll die and you won't have to worry about me anymore,"

"I told you not to talk like that,"

"I'm guessing you don't like pessimistic people," Jessica stated.

"Well my name isn't Pessimus Prime now is it?"

"Please don't tell me you're optimistic all the time," Jessica said in almost a pleading way, "Optimistic people tend to get on my nerves after awhile."

Optimus chuckled, "Then don't tell me you're pessimistic because they tend to get on my nerves after awhile."

"I'm pessimistic, now leave,"

The autobot leader smiled behind his mask, "As you wish, but either Sparkplug or I will be back periodically to check on you."

"You shouldn't care so much about me, no one else does,"

"Yep, you're a pessimist,"

Jessica rolled her eyes, "Just leave."

"I'll see you later Jess," he stated before leaving the room.

Once he and his minicon were gone, she chuckled thinking _Pessimus Prime, ha, that's a good one._ A few minutes later she fell asleep.

* * *

About an hour later, Optimus found himself with nothing to do and went off to check on Jessica. He went to her room and when he walked in he immediately noticed her shivering. He went over to her and pulled a blanket up on her. He then nudged her gently and asked, "Jess, you alright?"

She didn't answer. Optimus nudged her again this time a bit harder. "Jessica, are you alright?" he repeated and still didn't get an answer, "Jessica? Jessica!"

Not knowing what to do, the autobot leader lifted her in his hands and tried to revive her. She didn't even flinch. Thinking she was dead, Optimus rushed her to Red Alert. He burst in startling the autobot medic.

"What's wrong?" Red Alert asked concerned and turning away from his work.

"It's Jessica, I can't get her to wake up," Optimus exclaimed like he was out of breath.

Red Alert took Jessica and laid her on a bed in the med bay. He then did a few scans on her and a couple tests. Red Alert shook his head, "This isn't good."

"What is it?" Optimus wondered not so sure if he wanted to hear the news or not.

"She's in a coma, and the formula is really starting to effect her," Red Alert stated putting some of his tools away, "I'm giving her a few more days before…well…you know."

Optimus let his optics go offline trying to think clearly about what to do, "Is there any chances she'll wake up?"

"I wouldn't count to highly on it. Keep her here Optimus, if anything happens I'll be here to help her,"

"Alright, just work on her body and get it done before we lose her,"

"Yes sir," Red Alert exclaimed returning to his work on the body.

To lift the medic's spirits a little the autobot leader said, "I really appreciate you doing this Red Alert, once Jessica is alright, I'm giving you a vacation."

"That sounds nice…really nice," the medic remarked grateful to receive some good news. He went back to work.

Optimus sighed taking one last look at Jessica before he left the room.

* * *

There you go peoples, another long chapter for you all. Well, I'll probably update again next weekend. I've got a four-day weekend so I'll have lots of time. Please review!! 


	7. Revival of the Body and Mind

Almost summer break…almost…it's so close. Uh, yeah. Well, I couldn't keep Mrs. Optimus Prime waiting forever so…here's the next chapter.

* * *

_Chapter Seven: Revival of the Body and Mind_

Optimus lay in his recharge unable to get to sleep. He was tired, but he was too worried about Jessica to fall asleep. He didn't want to see her die, she didn't deserve to die. When she ran away, this should've never happened to her. No one deserved to die at the hands of the decepticons. Jessica was no exception.

The autobot leader couldn't deny that he had let himself get attached to her. He hadn't had one dull moment around her; Jessica kept him on his toes at all times. Optimus admired her adventurous and courageous spirit. She was a fighter; she probably could have given into the formula long ago.

And even though Jessica had the formula within her destroying her system, she sure didn't act like it. But then every now and then the formula would tend to get her down and she'd need some comfort, which Optimus was always grateful to provide.

Optimus was having a hard time believing that he was_ this _worried about Jessica. He had only known her a few days and already he was losing sleep over her. Sure he lost sleep over everyone else every now and then, but this was different. The autobot leader felt…differently about her than he did everyone else.

Sure, he cared about everyone, minus the decepticons, but he cared more for Jessica. He didn't know what it was, but the girl had seemed to open his optics more. Jessica _was _beautiful, and she _was_ smart, kind, compassionate, and everything Optimus had looked for in a woman.

He slapped himself mentally, _I shouldn't be thinking like this. I need to set an example for everyone else. Taking a femme by my side probably wouldn't be the best thing to do._ Optimus rolled over on his back. He wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.

Red Alert buzzed on his comlink suddenly saying, "Sorry if I woke you sir, but I have an update on Jessica's condition."

It must have been something really good or really bad or Red Alert wouldn't have bothered to disturb the autobot leader. "What is it Red Alert?" Optimus asked pretending to sound tired.

"Jessica has come out of her coma, I don't know if she'll stay out of it though. If you want to see her, perhaps you should come now,"

"Alright, I'll be right down," Optimus remarked ending the transmission and getting up from his bed. He then left the room and went to the med bay. When he entered, he noticed Red Alert had moved his work to the far side of the room. Either he wanted to allow privacy to Jessica, or she had bothered him. Optimus went over to the girl's bedside.

Jessica, who was awake, watched him as he sat down on the side of the giant bed, well giant to her anyway. "Isn't it a little late for you to be up?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," Optimus remarked, "You feeling any better?"

"No. You know, I told Red Alert to take a break from working on my body, but he won't listen. He moved over there instead," Jessica explained, "You guys shouldn't worry about me so much."

"I think it's too late for you to tell us that,"

"I don't quite understand why though, but I guess it's probably best I didn't," Optimus didn't say anything and Jessica continued, "Optimus, if everything turn out for the best…since I'll be able to transform into a human…I think I'm going to go back home."

Optimus didn't like the sounds of that, "For how long?"

"I don't know, just long enough to figure out what I want in life. I…I don't think I'm going to come back here. I only seem to cause trouble for you guys,"

"You're no trouble at all Jessica," Optimus said with a bit of sadness in his tone, "But if you must leave, I guess there's no stopping you."

Jessica didn't know why, but that wasn't what she wanted to hear Optimus say, "You don't mind that do you?"

"Jessica, I don't want you to go. It'd really mean a lot to us autobots…to me, if you stayed here," Optimus confessed.

"Why?" she asked finally hearing what she wanted Optimus to say, but continued pressing him anyway.

"I don't know…it's just so hard to explain,"

"Is it because Red Alert's in the room?"

"No, it's because I can't bring myself to say what I need to in front of you," he tried to explain.

"I'm confused,"

"Never mind then. Let's just finish this conversation when you're feeling better," Optimus exclaimed.

"Then what do you want to talk about?" Jessica asked.

"Nothing. I just came down here to see if you're feeling better or not. I don't want anything to happen to you Jess,"

"Stop being such a worry wart," Jessica protested, "I'll be fine whether I live or die."

"You're not going to die,"

"Don't jinx me now, don't jinx yourself,"

"I guess I'll have to go knock on wood then won't I?" Optimus stated with a smile hidden behind his mask.

"Looks like it," Jessica replied rolling over onto her side, "Night Optimus."

"Night Jess," Optimus repeated and gently rubbed her back with his finger until she fell asleep. He then went over to talk with Red Alert. "How's the body coming?" he asked.

"It's almost done," Red Alert responded, "By morning I should be able to transfer her mind into it."

"Alright, let's just hope Jessica makes it through the night,"

"I believe she will. Her coming out of the coma was a good sign, but just because she did doesn't mean she's going to live to tell about it either," the medic explained.

"Keep an optic on her for me,"

"You've got nothing to worry about Optimus,"

"I didn't think so, I'll see you in the morning Red Alert," Optimus said turning for the door.

"You know Optimus," Red Alert stated suddenly as he turned back to the body, "It wouldn't hurt to just tell Jessica how you feel. Incase something does happen to her."

"You really think I should?"

"C'mon Optimus, a girl like Jessica doesn't walk into your life for any old reason,"

Optimus glanced at Jessica's sleeping body. "Not now," he said and then left the room.

* * *

First thing the next morning, Optimus reported to the med bay. He was able to sleep some that previous night, but not much. Jessica was already was awake when Optimus came in and seemed to know what was going on.

"Red Alert finished the body," Jessica exclaimed as Optimus came into the room, "Oh and good morning too."

Optimus smiled behind his mask, "Good morning to you too Jess. You feeling any better this morning?"

"Not really," she confessed.

Red Alert came up to them at that moment and asked, "Jessica, you ready?"

"Wait, what? You're going to transfer my mind in now?"

"It's best to do it now,"

"Have you ever done this sort of thing before?"

"Trust me, you've got nothing to worry about,"

Jessica was silent for a few moments, "Alright, but I want Optimus here with me the whole time."

"I'll be right here Jess," Optimus stated, but moved back out of Red Alert's way.

"Alright, but I'll give you mouthful if you decide to go anywhere," Jessica threatened him.

"I'm not going anywhere Jess,"

Jessica nodded and was still as Red Alert attached a wire to the center of her forehead, her left temple, right temple, and her chest. He then attached wires on the same areas of her transformer body. Red Alert told her to relax and then began the transfer.

* * *

Jessica awoke realizing she must have fallen asleep sometime during the transfer. The first thing she saw when her optics came online was Optimus, and she smiled as she sat up. The wires were off her, and Red Alert wasn't anywhere to be found.

"Now are you feeling any better?" the autobot leader asked.

"Yes, remarkably. Where's Red Alert?"

"He stepped out for a few minutes after realizing you were just fine. I actually told him to go get some rest,"

"About time,"

"You know Jess…you look…beautiful,"

Jessica felt her cheeks turn red, "You're just saying that."

"I don't lie Jess," he said and then hesitated for a few moments, "Jess, there's something I need to tell you."

* * *

Yeah, I know, this chapter wasn't as long as the previous ones. It wasn't that great either in my opinion, but hey, at least I updated. Please review!!! 


	8. Tongue Tied

Well, school's finally out and I only have one exam left before I can officially call it summer vacation. Anyways, I'm not going to be in town June 22 through either the first or second of July. So, I'm really not going to be able to update at all. This might be the last story I update before I leave so, enjoy!

* * *

_Chapter Eight: Tongue Tied_

Optimus suddenly felt himself at a loss for words. He felt like he was going to choke on his own tongue. Never had a femme put him at a loss for words like this. Optimus tried to regain his composure, but he couldn't.

"Well?" Jessica asked looking at him quizzically.

"Um," Optimus remarked trying to quickly think of what to say, "Jessica…I…would…like to train you,"

"Oh," she stated, "How about you teach me how to transform so I can go home?"

"Later on, why don't you go to your quarters and rest?"

"I'm not tired,"

"Well, I guess you could just hang out, I've got nothing for you to do," he explained.

"I suppose I could find something to do," Jessica exclaimed sounding bored.

"Right," Optimus remarked, "I'll see you later Jess." And with that he left the room.

Jessica watched as he exited the room and the doors shut behind him. She got a rather evil looking smirk on her face and murmured, "I'm going outside." Getting up from the bed, she walked out of the med bay and out of the base.

Everything looked so much smaller from her new point of view. She sat down on a rock and sighed. Jessica had a lot of things to think about, and each thing she needed to think about seemed to make her life even more complicated than before.

Jessica knew she had been cured and the formula had been completely erased from her system. But now she was this, and although she couldn't say she wasn't beautiful, it would be awhile before she got used to her newly improved body. She was excited and terrified about her new form. She was basically unlimited now, but what was she suppose to do with herself? Humans wouldn't accept her anymore.

Not to mention she was homesick. As much as Jessica didn't want to admit it, she wasn't ready to be so independent and on her own. She wanted someone to turn to who would hold her and comfort her. But no one came to mind…just Optimus.

Out of all her problems, Jessica knew Optimus was the biggest one. He had always been there for her, whether it be looking out for her safety or actually rescuing her. And even though he was a robot, Jessica couldn't deny that Optimus was extremely good looking.

She felt…different…about him then she did anyone else. And she wasn't quite sure what it was she felt, but it scared her, and that's what made her want to leave. It was a burning hunger, and it was so strong, it made her weak at the knees. Jessica had felt this way before, but not quite as strong as she did now. That person whom she felt this emotion for only succeeded in breaking her heart. Ever since then, Jessica had kept herself isolated from that feeling, but somehow Optimus was breaking through that barrier.

Jessica rubbed her forehead and stood. "If Optimus isn't going to teach me to transform, then I guess I'll have to teach myself," she mumbled to herself. Letting her optics go offline, Jessica concentrated on what she transformed into. A jet was one form, and a human the other. She focused on her human form and ushered the word, "Transform." She felt her body fold and when she opened her eyes, she was human again. Jessica then transformed back into her robot form, and into her jet form and flew around for a bit getting used to her vehicle form.

When she was satisfied, Jessica transformed and landed on the ground. Suddenly a chuckle sounded behind her. Jessica whipped around only to be face to face with a nightmare from her past. "Sideways," she exclaimed.

"Good guess," he remarked and approached her.

Jessica took a step back, "What do you want?"

"You," he answered quite frankly, "I take it the autobots turned you into a transformer because our formula failed."

"Well no duh. All you did was poison me," she retorted.

"Don't use that tone with me," he threatened, "Now come, your presence is requested."

"Requested? By who?"

"Thrust, and me,"

Jessica rolled her optics, "I'm not going anywhere so you mine as well pack up and go home."

"The only thing I have to pack is you Jessica," he remarked stopping in front of her, "Don't make this harder than what it has to be."

"How about you just leave so you don't make this harder than what I want it to be?"

Sideways grabbed her by the throat and pulled her to his optic level, "I told you not to talk to me like that."

Jessica glared at him, "Let me go."

"Not a chance in hell. You're still an experiment kid, Thrust and I have yet to begin with you," Sideways stated in a sadistic tone then added with a bit of lust in his voice, "The autobots did do a good job creating your new body. I might just…experiment with it myself."

"You evil bloody creep!" Jessica spat venomously trying to break free from his grasp.

"I'll take that as a compliment," he stated with a smirk of amusement on his face, "We're leaving."

"Correction, you're leaving," she said and twisted herself out of his grasp. Before Sideways had time to react, Jessica had already disappeared back inside the base.

Sideways knew it would be suicidal trying to go in there by himself to retrieve the girl. "Next time Jessica," he mumbled under his breath, "Next time." And with that he made a hasty retreat back to the decepticon base.

* * *

Jessica ran to her quarters and locked the door once she got inside. Numbly she walked over to her bed and sat on its edge trying to calm herself down. She had almost crashed into Optimus on the way to her quarters, and she was sure within the next few seconds, he would be knocking on her door demanding to know what was going on. Quickly she tried to think of an excuse.

A soft knock sounded on her door, "Jessica, I know you're in there, let me in."

Jessica laid down on her stomach in the bed and pulled a blanket over her head. She was scared and confused, and she didn't want to tell Optimus what had happened for fear that he may yell at her for leaving the base without permission again.

"Jessica, I know your door code so you mine as well let me in,"

The girl didn't get up from the bed and a few seconds later she heard Optimus typing in her door code. She prayed that he'd mess up or something and that he wouldn't get in, but her prayers weren't answered. Jessica heard the door hiss open and shut and Optimus's soft footsteps as he came over to her bedside and sat on the edge where she had just currently been.

"Is something wrong Jess?"

"Leave me alone, I'm trying to be invisible,"

Optimus shook his head trying not to smile and said, "You know Red Alert didn't create you to be invisible."

"I'm using my imagination,"

"Well then, even if your invisible you can still talk, what's wrong?"

"I have the right to remain silent,"

"Not right now you don't," the autobot leader stated, "So spill."

"I don't spill,"

"Did you leave the med bay after I left?"

"Yes,"

"Where'd you go?"

"Out,"

"Outside the base?"

"Yes,"

Optimus shook his head not at all happy with Jessica's confession about that, "You still haven't learned have you? Whenever you step outside the base alone, something bad happens. So what happened this time?"

"I taught myself to transform,"

"Really now?" Optimus remarked a little surprised that Jessica was able to do that, but it made sense being the smart girl that she was.

"Yes, I can even fly on my own,"

"Well, I'm proud of you, but something else must have happened to have made you come running into the base so quickly like that."

"I had…company,"

The autobot leader felt his system's freeze, "Who?"

"I guess you could call him an old acquaintance,"

"Sideways?"

"Correct,"

Optimus groaned, "What did he want?"

"Me,"

"This definitely isn't good Jessica. Now that he knows you're a transformer, there's no telling what he'll want with you,"

"He wants me for more experimentation. Optimus, this is one reason why I want to go home. I'm sick of being treated like an experiment, I'm a normal person just like you and the rest of the transformers,"

The autobot leader sighed, "I know Jess, but until Sideways and Thrust are no longer a threat, I'm afraid I can't let you leave this base alone."

"Oh joy," Jessica remarked.

"And I definitely don't want you to runaway again, so what will it take me to get you to stay here?"

"Well, you could lock me in my room forever and forever and never let me come out," Jessica suggested, "But I don't necessarily like the sounds of that."

"And you know I'm not that kind of person to lock you up like that," Optimus admitted, "I guess I really don't have anything extremely persuasive to say other than I need you here with me."

"What?" Jessica said eyeing him suspiciously.

"Er, that came out wrong," Optimus quickly stated to try and cover up his mistake. He knew though that it hadn't been a mistake, and that he had almost told Jessica how he really felt. He kicked himself mentally for not stating the truth.

"Do you like me Optimus?"

"Yes," he said and then added quickly, "As a friend." Now he was ready to shoot himself for not telling the truth again.

"I see," Jessica said relieved and disappointed all at once, "I guess I could stay then, until Sideways and Thrust are taken care of, and then I might leave depending on whether or not I change my mind."

"You know," Optimus stated thinking back, "I did promise to take you to Cybertron sometime. Don't you want to stick around long enough so you can see it?"

Jessica rolled over onto her back and removed the covers from her body and sat up, "Yes! I completely forgot about that!"

Optimus chuckled, "Well, you'll need to wait around long enough until we can get a ship built and head back there."

Jessica nodded and there was silence between the two for a moment. Suddenly Jessica asked in a quiet voice, "Optimus, would you ever hurt me for any reason?"

"Is that what's been bothering you?" Optimus remarked in a gentle soft tone.

She nodded and moved so she was sitting next to him, "I was just wondering."

"Jessica, no matter what you did, I could never be moved enough to hurt you. I may yell, but I won't bite. Do you understand? I care a lot about you Jess, I don't want you to be afraid of me,"

Jessica was silent for a few moments. That feeling inside her didn't terrify her now as it had before. Now it was only a hunger waiting be satisfied, and more than anything did she want to satisfy it. The feeling was still extremely powerful, and still making her weak at the knees, but she now had an idea of what this feeling was.

"Hey Optimus," she said suddenly, "Don't be afraid to tell me anything."

The autobot leader glanced down at the floor knowing this was his moment, no time was better than now. He drew in a breath and suddenly found himself saying, "Thanks Jess, I'll see you later." And before he knew it, he had left the room leaving a bewildered Jessica behind.

* * *

Megatron sat in his throne and watched without amusement as Thrust and Sideways kneeled before him. "What is it?" he asked gruffly.

"We found out something about the autobots," Thrust spoke first with a chord of excitement in his voice.

"Thrill me,"

"They turned a human female into a transformer, successfully," Sideways stated before Thrust could get a chance to speak.

Megatron rubbed his chin thinking for a moment, "Any ideas as to why they did that?"

Thrust glanced at Sideways and the motorcycle continued, "Well sir, we had kidnapped her and run an experiment on her—

"Without my knowledge?" Megatron exclaimed cutting the bot off, "Just how did the autobots manage to get her away from you?"

"They came here and took her away," Sideways explained and prepared himself for Megatron's fury.

"Here? You two are going to be scrap by the time I'm finished with you!"

"Here us out Megatron, what if we could turn humans into transformers? Think about all the possibilities, you'd have more men on your side and you could easily outnumber the autobots,"

"And then there's the trouble of getting them loyal to me," Megatron hissed.

"We can program them to be decepticons loyal to you sir," Sideways added before Thrust could ramble on some more, "And if we could get this girl—

"There's no point in getting her,"

"Let Thrust and I see if we can duplicate this experiment that the autobots did. If we can't figure something out, we'll take her apart to get the information we need,"

Megatron thought about this for a moment. It definitely wouldn't hurt to try, and if it succeeded, it could mean an end to the war. "Alright," Megatron finally stated, "I'll go lead an attack on the autobots, and while all the autobots are out, Sideways you get the girl."

"As you wish Megatron,"

"Let me know when you have her though,"

"Yes sir,"

"And when I get back," Megatron stated with an evil grin on his face, "Bring her to me."

* * *

Evil spot to end it, I know. But until the next chapter, please review! 


	9. Consequential Distraction

Like I said in my other story, I'm back from my long vacation and glad to be back. It was so hot I thought I was going to melt. Anyways, here's chapter nine. Oh, just another question, where are all the reviews I was getting? Don't stop reviewing people!!

* * *

_Chapter Nine: Consequential Distraction_

Jessica sat in the command center stealing a glance at Optimus every now and then. It had disappointed her that Optimus hadn't said anything when she told him he could tell her anything. The thing in particular that she wanted to hear was that he cared a lot about her, as more than what a friend should. The girl knew she loved him, and it killed not knowing whether or not the great autobot leader felt the same way.

Optimus looked over and saw Jessica staring holes through the wall. He knew she was thinking deeply about something, and more than anything he wished he knew what. He hated himself for not telling Jessica the truth about how he felt about her. He felt like he was lying to her and he knew that if he didn't tell her the truth anytime soon, he'd drive himself insane. And the two were alone in the command center at the moment.

Clearing his thoughts he said, "Jessica, there's something I need to tell you that I should've told you earlier."

Jessica stood and looked over at him, "I'm listening."

Trying not to think, Optimus walked over to Jessica saying, "Please don't hate me for saying this but—

"Didn't I tell you that you could tell me anything?"

"Yes, but will you promise not to laugh, hit me, yell, or anything along those lines?"

"Optimus…I may get mad at you, but I could never be moved enough to hate you, just yell maybe,"

The autobot leader smirked behind his mask, "What about hitting?"

"I'm still pondering that one. Don't worry, if I hit you, I won't hit you that hard,"

"Alright, now to the point," Optimus stated then sighed, "Jess, I know we haven't really known—

Suddenly the alarm went off and the rest of the autobots reported to the command center. Optimus glanced glumly down at Jessica and whispered, "Can we continue this conversation after the battle?"

Jessica nodded and Optimus moved over to the monitor. Red Alert stopped typing and turned to his leader saying, "There's no minicon, but the radar picked up decepticon activity in the desert outside this city."

"Well, let's go see what they're up to," Optimus remarked, "Jessica, will you stay here and watch the kids?"

"No action? C'mon Optimus," Jessica protested and then caught the autobot leader's stern stare and said, "Well, if you insist."

"Thank you Jess. Autobots move out," Optimus ordered and he and the autobots warped out of the base.

Jessica satisfied herself by watching the battle on the monitor with the kids. It turned out that the decepticons had been looking for a fight, but the girl didn't think it made sense. The decepticons didn't appear to be after the autobots minicons and they certainly didn't have any hostages to trade for them. Jessica believed there was an ulterior motive, that this battle was just a distraction while the decepticons accomplished something else. That's when Jessica noticed Sideways was missing from the battle.

"Hey guys," the femme said addressing the kids, "I'm going to go check something. Radio the autobots and tell them Sideways isn't at the battle anymore."

"Right," Alexis replied, "But where are you going?"

"I'm just going to check something, I'll be right back," Jessica said heading out of the room. She didn't want the kids to worry.

At the moment she didn't remember who had told her, but someone told her that a device similar to a firewall had been set up in the warp gate to keep the decepticons out of the autobot base. Jessica headed to the warp room only to discover the defense was down and she didn't know how to set it back up.

"Okay, I need to warn the humans," Jessica exclaimed trying to calm herself and knowing that Sideways was most likely in the base. She walked quickly back to the command center seeing the kids were still in one piece.

"We radioed Optimus," Rad stated as Jessica came into the room, "He's alerting the other autobots that Sideways is missing and that if they don't find Sideways soon, then he's sending back a few of his men."

This comforted Jessica a bit, but not much. Suddenly a laser was shot out of nowhere and hit the monitor causing it to explode into a million shards of broken glass and computer parts. While everyone was distracted by the monitor, someone grabbed Jessica from behind and forced her into a headlock.

"Rad, Carlos, Alexis, get out of here now!" Jessica shouted.

The kids saw her, and after a bit more prodding the kids left the room. Someone chuckled evilly and the femme hissed, "Sideways."

"Correct my dear," Sideways exclaimed, "In this lighting you look so much more like a masterpiece."

"Let go of me," the girl snarled trying to break free from his grasp.

"No Jessie, I'm taking you back to the decepticon base where you belong," he stated.

"Don't call me Jessie, only close friends can and since you're not—

"I don't have time for this lecture, we're leaving now. Besides, someone other than Thrust wants to meet you,"

"For some reason I don't like the sounds of that,"

Sideways activated the warp sequence, "This _is_ how the big boys play."

"Who ever said you are a big boy?" Jessica retorted.

"You'll learn to hold you tongue my little…experiment,"

Jessica clenched her teeth and the two warped away from the autobot base to the decepticon base. Rad, Carlos, and Alexis came out from the nook they were hiding in and Carlos exclaimed, "I have a feeling Optimus isn't going to be too happy about this."

* * *

Megatron was just about to punch Optimus when his comlink came to life.

"Sideways to Megatron,"

Optimus perked up a bit listening to the soon-to-be conversation.

"What is it Sideways?" Megatron inquired.

"I'm back at the base, and I have Jessica with me,"

"Excellent, we're returning to base. Megatron out," the decepticon leader said ending the transmission.

Optimus was shocked, "Jessica? You dirty thieve! Give her back!"

Megatron smirked, "Thrust and Sideways wish to accomplish something with that girl first. Quite honestly, I can't wait to meet her. Though, once we decepticons are through with her, I'll think about sending her remains back to you."

"Don't you dare lay a finger on her, do you understand?" Optimus stated enraged.

"There's nothing you can do to stop me," Megatron remarked smugly then shouted, "Decepticons return to base!"

Optimus watched in horror as the decepticons vaporized before him until none were left. He stood staring up into the sky as his men gathered around. "We're going after them," the autobot leader said in a low angry voice.

Suddenly Optimus's comlink activated and Alexis's voice echoed through, "Optimus, Sideways kidnapped Jessica!"

The autobot leader balled his fists and some of the autobots looked towards their leader in total disbelief.

"How'd Sideways break through the barrier?" Hotshot exclaimed.

"We'll figure that out later," Optimus answered then politely ended the transmission from Alexis, "Red Alert prepare the warp sequence for the decepticons base."

"I'm afraid I can't do that sir," Red Alert replied.

"Why not?"

"Take a look at your men sir, they need repairs and we don't have the resources to lead an attack—

"I'll go alone and you can join me once all of your repairs are finished," Optimus stated addressing all of his men.

His troops were shocked about this statement and Scavenger exclaimed, "That's suicide Optimus. We all care about Jessica, but we're going to have to wait."

Optimus looked among his troops seeing that most were in need of repairs before they dared to fight again. "I've already made up my mind. All of you report back to base now. I'm getting Jessica and you are to join me as soon as your repairs are completed," the autobot leader ordered and warped away before anyone else could protest.

The rest of the autobots hurried back to the base.

* * *

Jessica tried to free herself from Sideways's grasp but couldn't do it. The bot chuckled as she stopped her struggling. He said, "That's a good girl."

"Stop baby-talking me you creep," she sneered.

The purple motorcycle was in the process of dragging her down to the prison. It took a minute, since Jessica had been struggling, but her finally succeeded in doing so. After locking her in a prison cell, he looked at her and said, "Until later my dear."

"Take your time," Jessica replied.

Sideways blew her a kiss and went to the command center. When he walked in, he discovered that Megatron and the rest of the decepticons were already back.

Megatron looked up at him and asked, "Where's the one you addressed as Jessica?"

"In the prison," Sideways stated, "I'll go get her if you—

"Nonsense Sideways. I'll go visit her myself," the decepticon leader grinned getting up from his throne and heading towards the prison.

* * *

Optimus glanced about him making sure there was no decepticons around. With his back to a wall and weapon in hand, he began his journey through the decepticon base, and to Jessica.

* * *

Okay people, that's the end of this chapter, and I would really, really, really appreciate reviews!!! 


	10. Absolute and Pure Happiness

Well, sorry it took me a while to get this up. And thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, it really means a lot to me.

* * *

_Chapter 10: Absolute and Pure Happiness_

The life of a medic is never easy. Ever since Red Alert had met Jessica he had found this out the hard way. Hours after he met her, he had toiled away for days without rest to build her a new body. He had been promised a vacation, but he never got it. And now, only hours since he had finished transferring Jessica's mind into the body he had built, he had orders from Optimus to repair the men and then deploy to the decepticon moon base where Optimus was trying to rescue Jessica on his own. Red Alert knew he had to hurry or else his leader was as good as dead.

It was mainly Hotshot and Sideswipe that needed repairing. Everyone else's wounds were minor and they could repair themselves. Replacing one of Hotshot's fried wires he said, "Okay Hotshot, you're good enough so that you can repair yourself the rest of the way. Let me go fix Sideswipe."

"Alright Red Alert," Hotshot answered leaving the med bay.

Red Alert turned to Sideswipe who said, "Hey Red, my repairs can wait. Optimus and Jessica are more important than me right now. Just go and help them."

"Pretty wise words for the rookie you are. Your repairs shouldn't take long, and if you so much as try to resist, I'll blame you for not getting to Optimus and Jessica,"

"In that case, hurry up and fix me," Sideswipe remarked.

Red Alert nodded and began the younger bot's repairs.

* * *

Jessica glanced down the hallway of the prison to see if there were any cameras or anyone watching her. After finding neither of the two, she quickly and soundlessly transformed into her human form. She managed to slip through the laser bars easily and began running down the hallway that Sideways had dragged her down minutes before.

_Thump._

Jessica stopped dead in her tracks. Someone was walking towards her, and she had no idea as to whom. Looking around she tried to find a place to hide. There was none.

_Thump._

This time it was closer, too close for comfort. Jessica could see two glimmering red optics in the distance. A shadowed, dark figure was the owner of them. Jessica tried to run, but it was too late, she had been spotted.

"Ah, a little human. How did you get here?" came the figure as it emerged from its shadow.

"Who are you?" Jessica questioned taking a fearful step back.

"I am Megatron, leader of the decepticons. And you are?"

"Jessica, Jessica Princeton,"

"What!? You're Jessica! Sideways and Thrust told me that the autobots turned you into a transformer!"

The girl knew she could use this to her advantage though she knew she'd probably get squished for it in the end. Not wanting to die, Jessica transformed into her robot mode and said, "They told you right, now let me by."

Megatron smirked looking her over, "The autobots did a good job. A _really_ good job."

Jessica rolled her optics, "Don't make me hurt you."

"Hurt me?" he nearly laughed, "Do you even know how to fight my dear?"

"Don't try your charm on me. Now this is the last time I'll ask nicely, will you please move?"

"No," Megatron responded crossing his arms.

Jessica frowned knowing that Megatron was just toying with her. He was really trying her patience. "Fine then, have it your way," Jessica stated about to rush at him.

Megatron grabbed her by the neck and pinned her to the wall before she had a chance to attack. "My dear," he said with an evil half smile on his face, "I always get my way."

* * *

Optimus made his way down the hallway as quickly and soundlessly as he could. He was lucky not to have come across any decepticon yet. The autobot leader knew he was a fool for coming to the decepticon base alone, but he couldn't stay back on earth knowing that Jessica was in grave danger. It scared him knowing the decepticons could do anything to her, and if anything did happen, he would blame himself forever.

Just the mentioning of her name made his spark throb. Optimus cared so deeply for her, he couldn't lose her. He'd only known her for a little over a week, but she had opened his optics so much in the last few days that he just couldn't see himself without her. And once this battle was over, Optimus was going to tell her exactly how he felt. There was no more holding back, no more secrets.

The autobot leader quickened his pace through the hallway. Suddenly he came upon a room. A light poured through an open door and Optimus stopped just beside the doorway. He heard voices inside and immediately recognized them as Megatron's minions. From the sounds of it, they were all in there. Optimus listened to their conversation as he tried to think of a way to get past the room.

"So Sideways," came Cyclonus's voice, "Just what does this femme you brought up here look like?"

"Why don't you head down to the prison and look yourself?" Sideways answered.

"But Megatron is down there with her right now and chances are he doesn't want to be bothered," Cyclonus protested.

Optimus got a bad feeling in his gut and knew he had to get to Jessica right away. He held out his arm and carefully aimed he wrist cannons into the room and fired. When he heard the explosion, Optimus darted by the room and quickly continued down the hallway.

Just as he was about to round the corner he heard Demolishor cry out, "It's Optimus!"

* * *

Jessica struggled trying to free herself from Megatron's grip. He had his hand wrapped tightly around her throat, pinning her to the wall. It was rather uncomfortable, and Jessica didn't like it. Megatron moved his free hand to her shoulder.

"What do you want?" she hissed.

"First of all, I want you to stop struggling, secondly I would like to know exactly what Sideways and Thrust did to you to make the autobots turn you into a transformer,"

"Why?"

"Do not question me Jessica,"

Jessica kicked him in the shin trying to get the decepticon leader to let go of her. He merely frowned and kicked her back. "I don't like insubordination femme," Megatron growled.

"Let go of me," Jessica stated not ceasing her struggling.

"Answer my question!" the decepticon leader shouted.

Jessica cowered back a bit. She could tell Megatron was getting angry, if he was not already mad, and said, "Alright, they kidnapped me and then they poisoned me."

"With what?"

"Some type of formula they developed to try and make me loyal to them,"

"Why?"

"I don't know,"

"You lie!" Megatron yelled tightening his grip on her throat.

"If you want to know, ask them, I have no idea,"

Megatron kicked her again and Jessica longed to break free from his grasp and runaway. Runaway to the autobots and to Optimus. She felt so at home with them that she didn't want to leave. And Optimus…her heart cried out for him.

"You stupid femme. I'll let Sideways and Thrust do what the want to you, heck I'll let all of my troops do what they please to you, and if you're not dead by the time they're done with you, I'll kill you myself," Megatron threatened, "And then I'll send your remains back to the autobots."

"No…you can't!"

"Watch me,"

* * *

Red Alert finished Sideswipe's repairs and the two autobots walked to the command center where the rest of the autobots troops were waiting all repaired and ready to go. They all reported to the warp room where Red Alert set the warp sequence for the decepticon base. In a matter of seconds the autobots were gone and at their destination.

* * *

Megatron started dragging Jessica back to the prison when suddenly his comlink came on.

"Demolishor to Megatron,"

"Megatron here," the decepticon leader answered stopping.

"Sir, Optimus is in the base and heading in your direction. I—

The transmission was suddenly cut short. "Demolishor?" Megatron called and didn't get an answer, "Damnit, the rest of the autobots must be here as well."

"You mine as well let me go," Jessica exclaimed.

"I don't think so," he answered, "Now, play hostage or play dead. It's your choice."

Jessica glared at nothing as Megatron pulled her into a headlock. "Good little femme," he grinned.

"Let her go Megatron," came Optimus Prime's voice out of nowhere suddenly.

Both Jessica and Megatron looked to the hallway ahead of them as Optimus emerged from the shadows. Jessica couldn't have been more relieved to see him.

"Why Prime, it's so nice of you to join us," Megatron remarked as Leader-1 transformed into his gun form and landed in the decepticon leader's hand. Megatron pointed the gun to Jessica's head.

"I said let her go Megatron," Optimus pressed.

"No. Leave my base with your pathetic troops and you won't have to worry about me killing Jessica in front of you,"

"She's done nothing to you Megatron,"

"She walked into my life,"

Optimus took a step towards the decepticon leader and Megatron moved his finger over the trigger forcing Optimus to stop.

"You have five seconds to get out of here," Megatron threatened, "Before I kill her."

Jessica struggled to get free from the decepticon leader's grasp, but failed. Megatron tightened his grip on her. Optimus developed a plan, but it could only take place if Jessica struggled again. Optimus caught her gaze and nodded ever so slightly. The girl was confused as to what the autobot leader could possibly be nodding about, and then it occurred to her that if she somehow distracted Megatron, Optimus could free her.

"Let go of me you shit-head!" Jessica suddenly shouted then sunk her teeth into Megatron's arm.

"You witch, stop it!" Megatron shouted back dropping his guard on Optimus.

The autobot leader attacked before Megatron had time to react. Delivering a swift, powerful right hook to the decepticon leader, Optimus was able to pull Jessica free and knock Megatron's minicon out of his hand. Not waiting for the decepticon leader to recover, the autobot leader grabbed Jessica by the hand and ran back down the hallway with her only to run into his own troops.

"Oh Primus, Optimus!" Jetfire exclaimed, "It's so good to see you, and with Jessica."

Optimus smiled, "Let's get out of here."

Red Alert nodded and activated the warp sequence and the autobots then returned to their base, safe and with everyone. The autobots then reported to the command center.

"Autobots, may I speak with Jessica alone please?" Optimus asked. He felt a little rude asking that since everyone just came in, but none of his troops seemed to mind as the filed out chatting as they did so. The doors hissed shut once they had exited and once again Optimus and Jessica were alone.

Optimus looked to Jessica and she returned the gaze. The autobot leader felt his tongue beginning to fail him, but this time it wasn't going to stop him. Jessica looked at him quizzically and then asked in a soft tone, "Optimus?"

"Shit-head?" he questioned suddenly.

Jessica's cheeks reddened and she smiled a bit, "Sorry sir, nothing else came to mind when I called Megatron that."

"I see," he answered looking down at the floor. He then looked back up and walked over to her. "Jessica, I…" he trailed off.

Jessica looked up at him and asked once again, "Optimus?"

Suddenly Optimus captured her in a crushing hug holding her tightly and close to him. "Are you alright? Please tell me that you are, oh please Jess," he demanded, "Those decepticons will pay if they hurt you."

"They just scared me a little, other than that I'm fine," Jessica smiled feeling safe and warm in the autobot leader's arms.

"Jessica, I…" he trailed off again.

"Yes?" she asked with a tinge of hope in her voice.

"Jess, I…oh slag it!" he yelled removing his face mask and pulling her into a deep and passionate kiss.

Jessica felt her spark skip a beat. She felt tears build behind her optics, but most of all she felt love. Letting the tears fall, she wrapped her arms around Optimus's waist. They weren't tears of sadness, they weren't tears of pain, they were tears of happiness. Absolute and pure happiness. The kiss deepened as Optimus gently stroked her face with his hand.

A few seconds later they pulled away and Optimus cupped Jessica's face in his hands, "You're crying."

"They're tears of happiness,"

Optimus smiled, his face only a breath away from hers and he whispered, "Oh Jess, I should've told you sooner, but whenever I tried to tell you I couldn't get the nerve to do it."

"Tell me what?" Jessica inquired looking up at him.

"I love you Jess,"

Jessica was so thrilled when Optimus said that her knees suddenly gave out on her. The autobot leader caught her before she fell and he held her tighter in his arms. "Are you sure you're okay?" Optimus asked.

"I'm fine," she said smiling.

"Nonetheless I'm going to have Red Alert examine you and make sure,"

"If you say so,"

Optimus smiled, a smile so beautiful Jessica thought her knees were going to give out again. Instead she smiled back and held Optimus closer to her saying, "I love you too Optimus."

The autobot leader felt his own spark skip a beat. It felt so good to hear her say that. After so long his life felt complete, and he hoped he would forever feel that way.

* * *

Once again thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Please keep up the good work and leave a review for this chapter! Please and thank you.


	11. Stars in your Eyes

Thanks once again to all of you who reviewed the last chapter, and to those of you who have read and reviewed every chapter of this story. You all get milk and cookies. (Feel lucky; Mistress Megatron is not a generous person normally).

* * *

_Chapter Eleven: Stars in your Eyes_

Late that evening, Optimus escorted Jessica to her quarters. The femme invited him in for a few minutes, and the autobot leader gratefully accepted the invitation. The door opened, Optimus lifted Jessica in his arms and carried her into the room and over to her bed where he gently laid her down.

Jessica smiled up at him as he sat next to her on the side of the bed, "You didn't need to do that."

"I guess not, but I felt it was necessary," the autobot leader replied, "Now, I wish you goodnight, sweet dreams, and don't let the bed bugs bite."

"There's bed bugs?" she questioned smirking.

Optimus smiled, his facemask removed and he kissed her hand saying, "I was only kidding. Now if you need anything at all, give me a call on my comlink."

"You're not going to stay here?" Jessica asked.

"No, our relationship is still young, we should wait a while before we start sharing the same bed," Optimus explained kissing her on the cheek.

"I guess you're right. Well then, I bid you goodnight as well, and pleasant dreams,"

"Pleasant dreams of you of course," Optimus smiled, "I'll be here when you wake up tomorrow morning."

"Then tomorrow morning better come fast," Jessica exclaimed and the autobot leader tucked her into the bed, "Really Optimus, you don't need to do all this for me."

"But I love you,"

Jessica smiled knowing that the small things in a relationship counted as much as the big things. She sat up with a grin on her face and gave Optimus a quick kiss on the lips then said, "I love you too."

Optimus smiled and Jessica felt her breath taken away. Optimus heard her breathing rhythms falter and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, jeez, you're just so gorgeous you keep taking my breath away,"

"I could perform mouth to mouth if necessary," the autobot leader remarked leaning closer to her.

Jessica felt her spark beat faster and started getting a little faint. Optimus noticed and chuckled saying, "May I ask how this relationship is going to work out when every time I get close to you, you nearly faint?"

"You're doing this to me on purpose," she protested, "Perhaps I should get a little revenge."

The autobot leader grinned and said, "I love you." He then gave her a kiss and then left the room, turning off the light on the way out.

When Jessica was sure he was gone, she hugged her pillow really tight and squealed into it. She couldn't recall a time in her life where she felt this happy, this loved, or this complete. Returning to the pillow to it's proper place, Jessica snuggled into her bed, pulled the covers up to her shoulder, and fell sound asleep.

* * *

Optimus awoke the next morning and grinned behind his facemask. It felt so wonderful having a reason to get up, a reason to live life to the fullest, a reason to be happy. His reason was his love for Jessica, and he couldn't wait to get out of his bed and go to her.

Getting up from the bed, the autobot leader thought about what he could do to wake Jessica up if she was still asleep. He stood in his quarters a few minutes thinking about it then realized he couldn't wait any longer to see her. A night without her had been long enough.

He exited his quarters and headed straight to hers, which weren't that far down the hall from his. When he got to her door, he lightly knocked, but he didn't get an answer. Quietly he entered and saw Jessica was still asleep on her bed. He walked soundlessly over to the side of her bed and gently sat down. Her back was to him, and the autobot leader began to sweetly massage her back.

Jessica stirred in her sleep and rolled over onto her stomach not only allowing Optimus better access to her back, but more room on the bed as well. Quietly he removed his faceplate and laid down in the bed beside her. He then wrapped his arms around her and continued massaging her back.

The femme rolled over again, this time so she was facing him, and snuggled into his embrace, her head nestled comfortably on his chest. Optimus gently kissed the top of her head and he heard her sigh and say, "Morning Optimus."

"Morning Jess, did you sleep well?"

"Just fine, though I must admit, the waking up part was the best," Jessica remarked looking up at him.

Optimus smiled and kissed her full on the lips. When they broke away, the autobot leader remarked sounding a bit disappointed, "Well, I suppose we should get up."

"Five more minutes," Jessica said pulling him into another kiss. When this one ended, she asked, "So, what's on the agenda for today?"

"I was thinking about having Scavenger train you, if that's alright with you of course,"

"That's perfectly fine,"

"And then I was thinking tonight we could go on a date, I've got a perfect place in mind,"

Jessica grinned, "Well, are you asking me on a date?"

Optimus smiled back, "Would you like to go out with me tonight?"

"I'd love to," she replied.

The two of them then got up and left the room. Optimus walked Jessica to the training room where Scavenger was already training Hotshot. The autobot leader entered and said, "I'm sorry to intrude like this, but Scavenger I was wondering if you could fit time in to help train Jessica."

Scavenger smiled, "No problem Optimus."

"Alright then, I'll be back here in a couple hours to see how things are going," Optimus said. He gently squeezed Jessica's hand before leaving the room.

Once Optimus was out of hearing range Hotshot exclaimed, "Looks like Optimus finally got the nerve to tell you how he feels about you."

"You knew about that?" Jessica questioned a bit surprised.

"It was rather obvious when he asked all of us if we would have a problem with him being with you," Scavenger exclaimed.

"He asked you that?" she asked even more surprised this time.

"You bet," the bull dozer continued, "We told him it was about time he fell in love with someone."

"It's really good to see him so happy again, the war has really taken its toll on him," Hotshot piped up, "But enough of the mushy stuff, let's get training."

Scavenger handed Jessica a gun and said, "We'll start with a bit of target practice. Have you ever fired a gun before?"

"Do squirt guns and those guns for games at the fair count?" Jessica wondered.

"I'll take that as a no then," Scavenger said, "Just be prepared for a recoil when you fire the gun."

"I know, I know," Jessica remarked and looked at the target board suspended from the ceiling. She lifted the gun and carefully aimed at the board. More than anything she wanted to hit the bulls-eye, but right now she would settle for just hitting the board. The femme squeezed the trigger. The laser hit just beside the bulls-eye.

"Nice one," Hotshot remarked, "I remember when Sideswipe first shot at this thing he hit the wall."

"I missed the center though," Jessica stated.

"Then give it another try," Scavenger suggested.

Jessica fired the gun again, this time it went just below the bulls-eye. Scavenger told her that her shooting skills were good enough and wanted her to try a moving target board. Jessica hit all of them, barely missing the exact center a few times.

The three of them then decided to move onto hand-to-hand combat. Hotshot and Scavenger demonstrated a few moves to Jessica and then Hotshot challenged her to a fight. "Remember now," the yellow bot stated once Jessica accepted his challenge, "Don't aim for the groin, unlike humans we wear protective armor in that area."

"Hotshot!" Scavenger scolded.

"What?" Hotshot questioned trying to look innocent, "It was only a piece of advice."

Scavenger shook his head and waited as Jessica and Hotshot moved into battle positions. "Okay, begin," the instructor called.

Hotshot lunged at Jessica trying to catch her off guard. The femme saw him coming though, and evaded his attack. She then grabbed him by the arm and flung him into the ground. A dazed Hotshot sat up and rubbed his head saying, "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"I've seen a lot of action movies, I learned everything I know from them," Jessica explained offering the yellow a bot a hand.

Hotshot took her hand and allowed Jessica to help him stand up. "Best two out of three?" he asked.

"When you lose that you'll be asking for the best five out of nine," Scavenger stated.

"Who said I was going to lose?" Hotshot protested, "What do you say Jessica?"

"I say bring it on," Jessica replied and the two of them went at it again.

Hotshot allowed Jessica the first move this time, but she was so quick he stumbled trying to block her punch. He managed to evade it and drop kick the femme, but she got back up before he got the chance to pin her. Hotshot realized that he was really up against something and that he would have to somehow plan out a strategy in order to beat her. Jessica lunged at him, and Hotshot stuck out his foot and tripped her. She fell on her stomach and the yellow bot proceeded to pin her.

"Cheater," Jessica exclaimed.

"There weren't any rules saying I couldn't trip you," Hotshot protested and helped the femme back up.

As the two fought their third match, Optimus entered the room watching the two duel against each other. "How's she doing?" the autobot leader asked Scavenger.

"Exceptionally well for never having fought before," Scavenger explained, "I imagine she'll be ready to fight on the battlefield by the end of the week."

"Is there anything she needs work on?"

"Her target practice,"

"I see. Would you mind if I worked alone with her for a few minutes?"

"Not at all sir," Scavenger replied just as Jessica pinned Hotshot to the floor.

"Ha ha, in your face. I win!" the femme exclaimed.

"Oh, just get off me," Hotshot grumbled.

Jessica got off of Hotshot and Scavenger called him out of the room. Hotshot sulked out of the training room behind his instructor and Jessica and Optimus were left alone.

"Sir, I didn't know you were here," Jessica said unable to hide a smile.

"It has been brought to my attention that you need a little help on your target practice," Optimus remarked taking a gun off the shelf.

"Okay, so I can't hit the center mark of the board, sue me," she retorted walking over to Optimus.

The autobot leader shook his head and handed her the gun. "Now aim at the target," he exclaimed.

Jessica lifted her arm and took aim. Optimus observed her for a moment before he instructed, "Keep both optics open when you aim, lift your arm a little, separate your legs a little more. There, now fire."

The femme shot at the target and got a perfect bulls-eye. "Wow, I like my teacher," she stated causing Optimus to smile behind his faceplate. She then put the gun away and the autobot leader took her in his arms.

"Are you ready to go on that date now?" he asked.

Jessica checked her internal clock and realized it was getting late. She had spent more time in the training room than what she had thought. "Of course I'm ready," she answered, "Where are we going?"

"Not too far," Optimus explained taking her by the hand and leading her out of the training room.

The two of them then headed for the warp room. Once inside the autobot leader punched in some coordinates and before Jessica knew it, both her and Optimus were standing on an empty beach on looking the ocean, and a beautiful sunset. "Oh Optimus," Jessica exclaimed grasping his hand, "It's beautiful."

"I thought you'd like it, after all you do wear the colors of the sunset," Optimus remarked nuzzling his face in her neck.

They then moved back a bit from the beach and sat down in a grassy field just behind the beach. Optimus pretended to stretch and wrapped his arm around Jessica. The femme leaned into his embrace relaxing at his touch. They watched the sunset in silence just glad to be in each other's company. As the last rays of the sun slipped out of sight, Optimus asked, "Jessica, could I have this dance?"

"Dance?" Jessica questioned, "To what music?"

"The rhythm of the waves, the voices of the birds, and the beat of our sparks," Optimus explained pulling Jessica to her feet.

Jessica chuckled wrapping her arms around the autobot leader's neck, "Okay then if you insist."

The two of them slow danced, the sandy beach acting as their dance floor, the appearing stars their lighting. They danced until the beach was completely engulfed in the darkness of the night and the stars were fully out above them. Optimus and Jessica laid back on the grass together looking up at the night sky.

"There's a lot of stars out tonight," the femme mused and then pointed, "Is that one Cybertron?"

"Yes, yes it is," Optimus replied.

A shooting star flashed suddenly and Optimus watched as Jessica let her optics go offline briefly and then come back on. "Something wrong?" the autobot leader asked.

"No, I just made a wish,"

"A wish?"

"Haven't you ever heard about making a wish on a shooting star?"

"No, does your wish come true?"

"If you truly believe and put your faith into it, it might," Jessica explained, "The only thing is you can't say it out loud or your wish won't come true."

"Okay then, you see that big bright star right there? I'm going to make a wish on it,"

"That's the moon,"

"I know, I was just messing with you," he remarked chuckling.

Jessica shook her head smiling and said, "Just wait for another shooting star. I'm sure there will be another one."

"Can I make a wish on the stars I see illuminated in your optics?" Optimus questioned looking over at the femme.

Jessica felt her spark melt when he said that and replied, "I think I know what your wish is."

"Oh really now?" he asked.

"You bet," Jessica said leaning over, removing his faceplate, and kissing him.

Optimus sighed gladly giving into the kiss and pulling the femme closer to him. A few seconds later they broke away and the autobot leader whispered, "This has to be the best night of my life."

"Well, it sure beats getting kidnapped by the decepticons,"

Optimus chuckled and relished in Jessica's touch. He knew exactly what to wish for; that nothing would ever come between him and Jessica, that they'd be together forever. That was what he wanted, and he hoped that she wanted that too.

* * *

Optimus and Jessica returned to the base later on that night. The autobot leader dropped her off at her quarters and gave her a kiss goodnight before he continued on to his own. Jessica watched him as he disappeared down the hall and then went into her quarters. She sat down on her bed and gave a light-hearted sigh. It felt so wonderful having someone who loved her and cared about her and would give everything up for her. Lying down on her bed, she smiled to herself. Tonight truly was the best night ever.

* * *

Well, I apologize for the wait; I kept getting writer's block throughout this chapter. Mrs. Optimus Prime, good luck in school and have fun. I hope you guys all enjoyed this chapter. Please review! 


	12. What Running Away Accomplishes

Well, school is nothing but work now a days. I've been bombarded with one thing of homework after another. And it's done nothing but zapped me of all my writing time, but since I have a four day weekend, I'm going to try my butt off to update all my stories. So, here's this one.

* * *

_Chapter Twelve: What Running Away Accomplishes_

If it was ever the case that fragments of love could turn into guilt, Jessica knew she was the prime example. Smothered and drowning she was in her feelings for the autobot leader; so thoroughly and completely overwhelmed by love. But the next morning, when she had woke up, she felt so guilty for running away from her family, it was like her whole world had just suddenly blown up in her face. There was nothing in her power that she could do to possibly turn back the hands of time and stop her impulse of running away a few weeks ago.

Jessica had overheard someone once say, "Two wrongs make a right; and three rights make a left." It was a rather meaningless statement, not to mention corny, but Jessica really wondered if she should commit the second wrong to make the right: turn left out of her quarters and go home…to her real home…to where her real family was.

Had she really thought that running away would've solved all her problems? Adventure _could_ start with running away from home, but _must_ it really start with that? What had Jessica really accomplished by doing so? Being kidnapped, losing her car, nearly losing her life on multiple accounts, becoming a transformer, becoming some freakish test subject, and falling utterly in love. But was her family really looking for her, or did they really even care? Had it been worth leaving her family behind like that? Had it really…had it?

Jessica went over to her computer, which was on her desk in her quarters. Turning it on she typed:

_To whoever finds this:_

_I'm sorry, but I have to go home…to my real home, and make right the things I've done wrong. I promise I'll be back soon, as soon as I possibly can be. Don't worry; I should be alright. If I'm not back in seventy-two hours come looking. Once again I'm really sorry for leaving like this…I know I promised you guys that I wouldn't runaway again but…this is something I need to do._

_I love you guys,_

_  
Jess_

She sighed and got up from the computer. Looking over to the door she knew the distance wasn't that far, but it felt miles away. Jessica was scared, she was scared of seeing her family's reaction, she was scared of leaving everything behind again. Deep in her heart though, she knew that this time everything she did would be worth it. Without a second glance, she turned and left her room and the base.

* * *

When Optimus awoke that morning, he was flooded with the memories of what had transpired the night before when he was with Jessica. A deep, satisfying sigh escaped from his lips as he folded his arms behind his head. He brought his attention to the ceiling, even though it was the least interesting thing in his life at the moment. But Optimus swore if he looked hard enough he could see Jessica's beautiful smiling face looking down upon him.

A sudden pounding on his door freed him from his reverie and brought him back to reality. Getting up from the bed and composing himself, Optimus went over to the door only to be greeted by a worried looking Hotshot. "Is something wrong, Hotshot?" the autobot leader asked addressing his subordinate.

"Is Jessica here?" Hotshot blurted ignoring formalities.

"No, why?" Optimus returned fighting back the urge to grab Hotshot by the neck and force whatever information the bot had out of him.

"She's…Jessica isn't in her room. I wanted to see if she was up to training a bit with me, but—

Optimus shoved past Hotshot and took off for Jessica's room without bothering to hear the rest of what the bot had to say. Worst-case scenarios were running through his head. Did the decepticons kidnap Jessica somehow? Did she hate him and runaway? A tendril of pain snaked its way around the autobot leader's spark. Perhaps thinking wasn't the best thing to do right now, for the sake of his sanity anyway.

He reached Jessica's room and went in without even bothering to knock. Hotshot's statement was true; Jessica wasn't there. Glancing around, Optimus noticed there weren't any signs that a struggle had taken place. Everything looked intact and in its proper place. Then he noticed the computer, and the message written across its boring and familiar screen. Slowly, as if being squeezed out of a bottle of glue, Optimus sat down in the chair in front of the computer and read the note. He reread the note. And he reread the note again.

"Oh Jess," he sighed but it sounded more like a whimper.

Optimus didn't know what to do. Should he go look for her now although she had told him to wait three days before he came looking for her? Or should he just stay put and sit idly by while waiting for her to return? But what if, what if she never came back? What if Jessica decided she loved her family more and stayed there? Life would be so much easier if it weren't filled with "what if." Jessica had said that she would come back, and Optimus would hold her to that.

But there was also the question of the decepticons. There was an extremely high threat of an attack from them; especially sine the minicons had been rather active as of late. And Optimus knew the decepticons would be all over Jessica the instant they spotted her, and he hated to admit it, but there was no way Jessica could defend herself from all of the decepticons.

Optimus was so lost in his thoughts that he never heard Hotshot come in and perch himself right behind the chair. The autobot leader nearly jumped out of his armor when he heard Hotshot ask, "Your orders sir?"

"We wait for the seventy-two hours to expire, and then we go looking."

* * *

While flying home, Jessica tried to think less of what she had done and more of what she would tell her parents when she got home. Jessica didn't want to lie, but her parents wouldn't believe the truth. She had no other option, other than to tell perhaps the world's biggest lie.

After flying for about an hour more, Jessica found herself looking down at her house. She transformed in a nearby forest, gathered up her courage, and managed to walk up to the front door of her house. Sighing heavily and feeling extremely out of place, Jessica lifted her heavy hand and knocked on the door…the door of her own home.

Footsteps sounded from behind the door and a man, worn with stress, answered the door. He looked surprised by what he saw at first, but then his lips curled into a grin as he exclaimed, "Jessica!"

"Oh daddy, I'm so sorry for leaving," Jessica blurted out, teary-eyed as she hugged her father. An odd moment of silence passed between the two before Jessica asked, "Where's mom?"

It surprised the girl when she didn't receive a response. "Daddy?" she asked looking up and was unable to stop a horrified gasp from escaping her lips.

The man who she was currently hugging…the man who was currently her father…was now a holo-form of Sideways.

* * *

Yes, it was a very short chapter and I apologize for that. I wanted something worthwhile to happen, if you call this worthwhile. But, I'll try to bring the next update to you asap. I'd really appreciate some reviews, please and thank you! 


	13. Your Lips Are Venomous Poison

Yes I know it took me a while to update this again, I apologize. I've been lazy and busy if that makes sense. But anywa, I have my own computer now if that counts for anything. And it's a laptop, which I'm really happy about as well. Well, I'll leave you to read and enjoy this chapter.

* * *

_Chapter Thirteen: Your Lips Are Venomous Poison_

Jessica was in total and complete disbelief. She had risked everything coming home to see her parents: her relationship with Optimus, her friendships with the autobots, running into the decepticons, _her life. _And what had happened? She managed to fall into an unpredicted and unimaginable trap. Her intentions had been good, but the consequences were bad. Now, here she was, holding her worst enemy in her arms because that enemy had been impersonating her father.

_If I'm not back in seventy-two hours come looking._

Come looking for what? By that time there'd be nothing left of her to look for. Jessica was close to tears. _Oh Optimus, I'm sorry. I don't know how to do anything right. Please don't cry if I die. Please…you're so much better than me. I can't even follow a simple order and you still love me…and hold me…and kiss me…and tell me…tell me that I'm your only one. Oh Optimus, I'm just so sorry._

There was no telling where her parents were. Alive, dead, imprisoned, enslaved, murdered, Heaven, hell. Or maybe they weren't home, maybe, possibly, they had gone somewhere…shopping…visiting relatives. But why would they step out when they know their baby girl is missing? Why would they leave the house to which their little girl might someday come waltzing back through hoping to be forgiven?

Jessica had to swallow back the bitter taste of anxious fear before she asked in a deathly quiet whisper that made her voice rasp, "Sideways, where are my parents?" She felt her stomach lurch and had to hold back the urge to vomit from worried uncertainty. Jessica let her arms fall away from Sideways since they were beginning to feel like they were burning from the decepticon's touch.

"Foolish girl. Did you really think you could escape me?" Sideways replied ignoring her question.

"I had hoped," Jessica swallowed in response, "Just tell me where my parents are."

"I don't know, and I really don't care."

"Then how did you get that image of my father?"

"I saw a picture of it in the house, I thought this human had a relation to you…now enough of the small talk. We're leaving. I have unfinished business with you."

"What about Thrust?"

Sideways smirked from behind his facemask, "No…I have a different purpose for you other than experimentation. Thrust…he had been a valuable tool in your creation, but now…he will not interfere with us."

Jessica attempted to take a step back but he seized her arm in his hand. Sideways was powerful, as small as he was, he was not to be underestimated. But where did his power come from? He had to learn everything he knows from someone else, but who? Just who exactly was this monster? Where did he take his roots and how did he come into being? Who created him? And what was his purpose now with Jessica if it was no longer experimentation?

The girl didn't like him. She didn't like the way he looked, his smell, how he felt, what he sounded like, and she _didn't_ want to know how he tasted. Jessica felt like he looked right through her; that those glowing pink optics of his passed right through her optics, bypassed her heart, found the map to her soul, and from their went straight down to her core. His voice tended to penetrate every barrier in her mind that she had set up to block away the sound of his voice. When he touched her, as a human or as a transformer, it didn't matter if her flesh was metallic or just skin, it felt like his fingers were bruising her, leaving reminders that he was there. Jessica shivered involuntarily. She hated him…oh how she hated Sideways.

"You know in the beginning, when I first found you as that worthless flesh bag, I didn't know you had this much potential."

"What do you mean?" Jessica asked and then realized that she really didn't want to know.

Sideways smiled behind his faceplate, "I'm glad you asked. But I think it would be just a tad bit difficult for you to hear this. So perhaps I should just show you." And he pulled her closer to him, much closer than what Jessica felt comfortable being.

She felt his other hand, so cold to the touch, gently rest on her neck. Fear began crawling through her circuits and a whimper found its way past her lips. "N-No, let me go," she exclaimed stuttering from the fear which was beginning to firmly grip her heart.

The decepticon seemed to feed off her fear as he chuckled softly, evilly, and moved his other hand that had been tightly gripped around her arm to her waist. "Aren't you at all curious, Jess?" he inquired, leaning closer to her.

Her stomach lurched again, and again Jessica fought off the urge to vomit. But then, as the thought of vomiting dawned upon her, so didn't a story her teacher had told her in Health Class in tenth grade.

…_I had a friend once who was at the wrong place at the wrong time…a man came out of nowhere…he surprised and her and grabbed her from behind…she was so afraid because she knew he was going to rape her…and her fear got the best of her stomach…she threw up…and the man was so disgusted…he let her go and ran off._

But Jessica knew she couldn't throw up on Sideways, he would only curse her, punish her, and then be right back after her. It seemed like there was no possible way she could escape him, unless a miracle happened and Optimus came, but Optimus wasn't coming, not for another seventy-two hours. If he still loved her that was. And now tears were forming in her eyes, and Jessica desperately blinked them away. She didn't want to look weak. Not in the eyes of her enemy. "Sideways, just leave me alone."

"Why should I? You are my creation…Thrust may have helped me create you, but you are mine," explained Sideways as he rested his forehead against hers, "Oh Jess…it took me so long to realize you are much more than just an experiment."

"No!" she exclaimed in a horrified gasp, "No Sideways, I _hate_ you. Do you understand? _I hate you!_"

And he chuckled again, much to Jessica's horror, and then he said, "You'll change your mind. You belong to me Jessica, forever."

The terrified and sickened girl tried to twist her way out of his terrible grasp, but his grip on her was too strong. She looked back to him with fear in her eyes. "You can't escape me Jess, never again." And with a sudden force, he roughly yanked her into the house.

The girl heard the door slam and then suddenly she was pinned back against the door. Her heart was pulsing with fear as she saw that Sideways was holding her wrists to the door and he was leaning his full weight against her human form to keep her where she was. His face was only a breath away from hers.

"Oh Jessie," he breathed with wicked passion, "Don't resist me, I really don't want to hurt you."

"N-No…just leave me alone please, I don't want this," she tried to plead but was ignored. She saw his facemask suddenly disappear and felt as his metal nose suddenly stabbed into her cheek.

Tears fell as his lips found hers and forced her into an completely unsolicited kiss. And Jessica felt broken. She felt as if this moment was betraying every single time she had told Optimus she loved him, every single time that she had kissed him and held him. This wasn't what she had come home for, never would she have come home for such an immorality such as this to be played upon her. But it wasn't being played, it was being given, forced upon her. And what for? Because she had runaway, because she hadn't been smart. Because she had been trying to do the right thing only to have the worst possible thing in the world happen.

Sideways demanded entry. He ran his tongue along her lips repeatedly, roughly, but Jessica denied him, refusing to let him have any part of her he didn't already have. He growled and without any warning, he sunk his teeth, sharp as daggers, into her bottom lip. Jessica felt blood surge out of her wounded and punctured lip as she gasped in surprise and pain. Sideways didn't hesitate and immediately slid his tongue inside her mouth, a place where it didn't belong.

Jessica suddenly knew what her enemy tasted like. And the taste was so morbid, she gagged, which only caused Sideways to snicker. He tasted like vomit and poison. A combination so revolting, that Jessica hoped she would throw up because she was certain that her vomit would taste a lot better than whatever concoction lived on Sideways tongue. She was so repulsed though, she blindly sank her teeth into his tongue, she hadn't even realized what she had done until she tasted energon and mech fluid and Sideways snarled and pulled away.

Jessica looked at him, waiting for some sort of beating after what she had just done to the motorcycle. And it soon came, a fierce slap across the face that left her cheek stinging and her eyes with tears in them. The angered decepticon then said, "You will learn to accept me, you will." He then glared at her a few moments longer, as if searching her eyes for some sort of agreement. When he appeared satisfied, he huffed and let her go.

Jessica didn't hesitate. The moment she was free from his grasp, she ran over to the kitchen sink and threw up. It didn't take her too long to empty her stomach of the gut-wrenching fear and anxiety it had been clinging too. Of course she didn't feel that much better afterwards as she turned on the faucet and let the water erase any trace of her momentary sickness. She could hear Sideways laughing in the background and she wished, heck, she more than wished that he would just stop laughing. Her fear wasn't funny, her being scared to the point of throwing up wasn't funny, _feeling like she was betraying Optimus wasn't funny._

And what had come over Sideways suddenly? One of the last times she had seen him, outside the autobot base, sure he had wanted her, but not for romantic interests, but for experimentation. But he had made a remark about her beauty and wanting to experiment with her body. Obviously he had been considering having her as more to him than just an experiment. But what convinced him? Was it because she kept running away from him? Did he believe that because he had caused her to become a transformer that now he could do whatever he wanted to her? Or had he, if it was at all possible because of his decepticon heart, fallen in love with her?

Jessica shivered at the thought and turned off the faucet. Suddenly she felt cold arms wrap around her waist, which caused a chill to erupt up and down her spine. Her hand froze to the faucet as Sideways pressed his front against her back. _Not again, please not again…_

"Let's go."

"G-Go?" Jessica stuttered feeling the fear take hold of her stomach again.

"Yes," he hissed, "To your new…home."

She cringed as his icy lips grazed her neck and his sharp teeth nipped her flesh. _Optimus…help me please help me_ she cried mentally. Swallowing she managed to reply in a strained voice, "I don't want to go to the decepticon base…not again."

"We're not going there…at least you're not. You are mine, and I am keeping you to myself."

"Then, where--

"You'll see," he responded cutting her off, "Now, let's go."

Tears filled her eyes again as she heard the warp sequence activate and suddenly the house was gone and they were on the moon looking down at the earth. Jessica felt angered since she was pretty sure Sideways had just lied to her. She broke out of his grasp and glared at him and was about to ask him what they were doing on the moon, the same place where the decepticon base was located, but Sideways spoke first saying, "Before you jump to conclusions, transform."

"Why should I?"

His hand seized her throat, "My orders are not to be questioned, or else."

Not wanting to find out what Sideways meant by the or else, Jessica transformed into her robot mode and watched as Sideways followed suit. "Good girl," he said before grabbing her by the arm and leading her over to a cliff that they were at the bottom of.

When they got to the cliff, Sideways put his hand on one of the many jagged rocks that protruded from the side of the cliff. Seconds later, a hidden door opened in the side of the cliff that Jessica never would have guessed was there. The decepticon leader then pulled her through the door and it immediately shut behind them with a loud bang that reverberated off the walls. Suddenly, lights came on that were so bright they nearly blinded Jessica. Before her optics had time to adjust, Sideways dragged her into the very well illuminated base hidden inside the cliff.

By the time Jessica's optics had adjusted, she realized that the place was bigger than she thought it was. They were in a large room and the girl saw a hallway that led out of the room. She had a feeling that the hallway split into several other hallways that led to even more rooms and dead ends. How would anyone ever find her here? Was she doomed to stay here…forever…with Sideways?

Slipping an arm around her waist, Sideways said, "Welcome to my lair, hidden to everyone except for you and me."

Jessica realized that the room they were in was very similar to the autobot base command center. It had everything the autobots did, it didn't lack anything except for the autobots. Jessica swallowed hard…she missed the autobots terribly, especially Optimus. She felt terrible for leaving. And now, so much more than anything, she just wanted to go back. She wanted to run, not walk, back into Optimus's arms where she felt safe and loved. She didn't want to stay here a second longer in the arms of her enemy, the enemy who had more than sickened her. He violated her…and he had to pay.

"Come my dear, I will take you to your room."

_My room? Does that mean we're not sharing a room?_ Jessica prayed that was what he meant, and she didn't dare ask if they weren't. She did not want to give him any ideas and she sure did not want to sleep in the same bed as him. The only person she dreamed of sharing a bed with was Optimus, and she would never share a bed with anyone else.

Jessica followed Sideways through a series of halls, and by the time the two of them had arrived at the appointed room, Jessica had no idea where in Sideways lair she was. He typed in the code that opened the door to her room and once the door had opened, he stepped aside so Jessica could enter. She looked at him warily before walking past him and into the room. His hand of ice caught her shoulder though just as she entered the room and she stopped, her shoulder tensing under his touch.

"Look at me, Jess."

She understood it was a command, not a request, and slowly turned to face the decepticon she so far hated the most. "What is it?" she asked though she didn't want to know.

He didn't say anything, and Jessica watched once again as his facemask disappeared revealing a wicked smile upon his lips. Sideways captured her in his arms before she had a chance to escape.

"No," she breathed trying to push herself away from him, "Let me go, please let me go."

"Never Jess, never," he exhaled in return and kissed her again.

Jessica squeezed her optics offline and tears broke free from her optics…_help me Optimus…please!

* * *

_

Optimus sat in Jessica's quarters feeling depressed and miserable. He missed his love…oh he missed her so much. He wanted her back so badly…seventy-two hours, three days, was much too long to wait for her return. Not to hear her voice, not to see her beautiful face, not to touch her beautiful, soft, comfortable body, not to hold her, not to kiss her, not to taste her delicious lips, not to smell her wondrous scent, not to experience any of these things for three days was too long. Three days felt like a century, even longer than that. And he didn't want to wait…he wanted his love…he wanted her so much it was so much stronger than a hunger.

And when he got his Jess back, there was no if, he _would_ get her back, he would smother her with his love. He would drown her in kisses, he would crush her with hugs, he would worship her and the ground she walked on, he would give up everything for her because he loved her so much. But three days…oh how long seventy-two hours seemed…just too long.

Optimus had a bad feeling in his gut…a terrible feeling to be more exact…a feeling that his Jessica was in grave danger. That something awful had happened to her…that in three days she wouldn't be coming back. And it scared him right down to the core of his being. He was so worried he just couldn't sit where he was anymore…he had to know his Jess was okay, he had to know that she had arrived to her human home safely, he had to know he'd see her again.

His worry about her finally took the best of him. Without much thought, Optimus turned on his comlink and tuned it to Jessica's frequency. _Oh Jess…_he prayed_…please be alright…I'll die if I never see you again._ Letting his optics go offline, he spoke into the comlink, "Jess, if you can hear this, please answer me."

* * *

"What the hell?" Sideways exclaimed as he broke off the kiss since Jessica's comlink had just erupted into life and Optimus's message had played through, "Turn that thing off or else."

"Let me talk to him…please, I'll do whatever you ask, please, just let me talk to him," pleaded the girl thrilled just to hear Optimus's voice.

Sideways eyed her suspiciously, "I hold you to that. Permission granted, but I'm listening, so be careful as to what you say to him."

"Thank you Sideways," she replied relieved and then responded to her love, "I'm here Optimus."

"Oh thank Primus! Jess, I've been so worried about you!" came Optimus.

"WHAT?!" Sideways roared immediately figuring out that Optimus and Jessica had feelings for each other. He grabbed Jessica by the right arm and lifted her comlink to his mouth, "Worry all you can Prime! You'll never see you're Jessica again! Do you understand?"

"Sideways?! Let Jessica go! Do you hear me? Let her go or face my wrath!" commanded the autobot leader.

"You're not here to do anything to stop me. And you can search the cosmos, but you'll never find her. She belongs to me now."

"Sideways…I've warned you."

"You're in no position to be handing out threats Prime."

"If you lay one finger on her or even dare try hurting her I'll turn you to slag."

"What did I just say Prime? And besides…I've already laid more than just a finger on her. Now, goodbye Prime," Sideways said ending the transmission before Optimus could say anything. He then threw Jessica into the room and she landed roughly on her side on the floor. "Well Jessica, this is certainly an interesting turn of events."

"Don't hurt him, just leave him alone," she begged.

"He's going to die Jess…and you're going to watch as he dies," Sideways stated and then walked away.

She watched as the door closed and heard it click signaling she was locked in. Picking herself up from the floor, she managed to walk over to it and slump down on it. She drew her knees to her chest and hugged them tightly.

"Oh Optimus," she sobbed.

* * *

And so ends this chapter. An odd place to end, but too bad, I'm ending there. Now that the suspense is building, it'll kill you guys to have to wait for the next update. (laughs evilly) Wait a sec...I don't want you guys to die! I want you to keep reading and send me some reviews! So stay alive and please review! No flames though. Flames are EVIL. 


	14. Escaping Into a New Hell

Okay, I told Mrs. OP that was going to update this story today, since she updated How Big Can Love Get? last night...so here it is and she can't kill me for not updating it.

* * *

_Chapter Fourteen: Escaping Into a New Hell_

Jessica sat on her bed, knees hugged as tightly as possible to her chest and she was crying, silently crying, tears gently falling down her face. She felt relieved knowing that Optimus knew what was going on and that he sounded like he still cared. But she missed him so much, she missed the feeling of his security, of the safety she was promised and reveled in. And she had run away from that hoping to return within three days time, but now she had no idea when she would return..._if_ she would return. Another wave of tears hit her and she continued to silently let the tears fall. It was late, very late, she knew that, and she didn't care. Jessica wasn't tired, she was too worried to sleep, too afraid. She just wanted to go home, to the autobots, and she wouldn't leave again. Ever.

There was a soft knock at her door, and she knew who it was, and she felt sick inside. She didn't want Sideways to come...not now, not ever. This wasn't supposed to happen; she had hated him for viewing her as nothing more than an experiment, but now, she much rather preferred him going back to that viewpoint. She didn't want to be his consort...she didn't want to be _his_.

The purple decepticon entered the room even though Jessica hadn't said he could. She didn't look at him as he came over to the side of the bed and sat down next to her. She wouldn't look at him if she didn't have to. A burning cold hand cupped her face and she had to suppress a shudder from making it's way through her body. An arm snaked itself around her shoulders and pulled her against a torso, holding her there tightly. A thumb wiped the tears that slid gracefully down her cheeks. Poisonous lips grazed the top of her head.

"It's late Jessie, why are you still up?" came his voice.

"I could ask you the same thing," she responded.

Sideways placed his lips on her cheek and she felt it as he smiled, "Let's go to bed then."

Panic swept through her circuits and she whimpered, "You mean, both you and me...in the same bed?"

"Don't worry Jessie, I'm not going to do anything...not if you behave."

The sickness was swelling in her abdomen again and she couldn't let it out...she wouldn't have any place to let it out...just Sideways...and she didn't dare. He laid her back on the bed before lying down himself, pulling a blanket over them. From underneath the covering, Jessica felt his arms wrap around her waist and pull her directly against him. She wasn't facing him, her back was to his front. A sharp and pointed chin rested on her shoulder, and Jessica knew she was trapped. There was no way she could sneak away from him during the night without waking him. Attempting to escape would only prove futile.

It wasn't too long before Jessica heard his breathing rhythms relax and knew her enemy was asleep. And she hoped that he died in his sleep...died...couldn't she kill him now? Just turn around and start choking him to death? He'd wake up, but he'd be so surprised he wouldn't be able to react. Slowly she turned in his arms to face him and witnessed as tired pink optics flickered online. They gazed at each other for minute before he let his optics go back offline. It took him about two seconds to fall back to sleep, and Jessica waited this time. She waited for him to fall into a deep sleep and she felt like she waited for hours before she reached into her subspace and extracted a small blade. Careful not to disturb him, she moved the blade to the back of her enemy's neck.

Without warning, pink optics flared online and before Jessica could grasp what had happened, she was on her back, arms and legs pinned, Sideways laid over her and held the blade dangerously against her throat. The girl didn't even dare to swallow for fear that she would be cut and lose her life.

"I thought you might attempt something like that," Sideways hissed with rage, "Do I have to slit your throat in order to make you learn that you are mine?"

Tears fell from Jessica's optics and she didn't know how to answer, she didn't want to beg for her life, but she certainly didn't want to die. How did he know that she was going to try and kill him? How did he pin her so quickly without getting stabbed in the process? Jessica let her optics travel away from the decepticon's. Looking at the blade, she saw energon collecting at the end of it and preparing to drip from the tip. It had cut him...

Sideways growled when she didn't answer and got up from the bed and headed towards the door. As he walked away, Jessica observed a cut beneath his neck that was bleeding, but it didn't look life threatening. Before Sideways left the room, he turned back to Jessica and said, "Just wait until I get back."

And she watched as he left the room, knowing she wouldn't be here when he got back. Silently, she wiped her optics and got up from the bed. Before Sideways had come, she noticed a vent in a wall along the floor. It was like Sideways was tempting her to try and escape, or he completely forgot she could transform into a human. Going quickly over to the vent, Jessica transformed into her human form and slipped inside the vent where she began running along it's passageways trying to find her way to the command center where she could make her escape.

* * *

Hours went by before Jessica finally found her way to the command center of the base. She looked out of the vent to see if Sideways was there or not, and she didn't see him. Carefully, she slid out and quickly, yet quietly, made her way over to the door where she transformed back into her robot form. She went to open the door when she noticed she had to type in a number code in order for the door to open. Cursing, she aimed her guns at the door and blasted it down. Not waiting for the dust and debris to clear, she ran through the opening and looked out along the moon's surface to the earth. She was so close now, the hard part was over. That's what she thought until she heard laughter sounding from above her.

Jessica whipped around only to see Sideways standing at the top of the cliff looking down at her. He had found out she was missing sooner than what she had hoped. Aiming his guns at her the decepticon stated, "Don't move little one."

So sick of it...she was sick of everything he did to her, everything he said, just so sick of him. Glaring, she aimed her own guns at him and shouted, "Follow your own advice, I'm leaving and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

Sideways growled, "If you leave, Optimus will perish."

"I guess I'll just have to kill you before I leave then."

"You should just surrender quietly like a good little girl. You're only making things worse for yourself," Sideways explained as he jumped down from the cliff and landed in front of her.

* * *

Demolishor sat in the control room, bored as hell and just as tired. He had been assigned guard duty that night, and as usual, nothing was happening. Nothing that was of course, until two small blips on the radar appeared. At first Demolishor was too stunned to do anything but stare at the radar, until he realized he should probably zoom in at that location and see what was there. When he zoomed in, he got a pretty good surprise.

Turning on his comlink, the decepticon hated doing this, but he radioed Megatron saying, "Sir, sorry if I woke you, but I have something to report."

There was a bit of a pause before Megatron replied, his voice gruff with sleep, "This better be worth waking me up, Demolishor."

"I've detected Sideways outside the base with that femme, sir."

"I'll be there in a minute."

"Yes sir."

Demolishor kept an optic on the monitor as he waited for Megatron to come. When the decepticon leader did come, Demolishor filled him in as to what was going on, which wasn't very much, and as Megatron observed the monitor, he smirked saying, "Go get Thrust and Starscream and have them meet me at Sideways and that femme's location."

"Yes sir," Demolishor saluted and then left the room.

Megatron soon followed and went to the warp room, where he typed in the coordinates into the warping machine and disappeared to Jessica and Sideways location.

* * *

Sideways grabbed Jessica by the throat and exclaimed in a most imperil voice, "You _will_ pay for this."

Jessica knew she stood no chance against him, he was much too powerful for her and she had thought she could get away, even overpower him if she had to, and now, as he held her in a choker grip, she knew she was wrong, deathly wrong. She didn't know what Sideways had in mind...she didn't want to know what he had in mind for her.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," came a sinister and powerful voice from the top of the cliff suddenly.

Both Sideways and Jessica looked to see Megatron standing there now, not to far from where Sideways had been just moments before. The decepticon leader's arms were crossed, an amused look scribbled upon his face.

"S-Sir?" stuttered the subordinate decepticon, "What are you doing here?"

"Let me ask you the same question," Megatron returned.

Sideways glanced to Jessica and back to his leader and seizing the opportunity, Jessica said, "He's a pervert and was trying to do something I didn't want to do." It was a lie, but she decided to say it anyway. Maybe the decepticon leader would have some sort of mercy towards her, hopefully, associating Megatron with mercy was nearly impossible.

The decepticon raised and optic ridge and asked, "Is this true, Sideways?"

"Of course not."

"So then, why are you out here with her, an autobot, who is not supposed to be here? Or should I ask Jessica?"

Jessica didn't know why, but a feeling began to form in her gut that Megatron was on her side, for an odd reason, but she didn't know why. He had been a bit rough around the edges when they had first met, but he seemed different right now.

"Sideways! Answer the question! I did not get up at this time of night to waste my time. Now you either talk, or you will be punished, it's your choice."

Sideways growled and said, "I kidnapped her."

"And you brought her here and not the base?"

Sideways didn't say anything and Megatron did hesitate to ask, "Is there something you're keeping from me, Sideways?" From his viewpoint on top of the cliff, Megatron couldn't see the gaping hole in the base of it, nor did he see it from the monitor in the base.

"No sir."

Megatron frowned, "I don't have time for you informalities. Get out of my sight, I'll deal with you in the morning."

And much to Jessica's relief, Sideways materialized through a warp gate. And just as quickly as the relief had come, it disappeared because now she had to deal with the leader of the decepticons. He looked her over before he said, "Tell me what happened, and I'll consider releasing you."

"I want a guarantee before I tell you anything," Jessica replied.

"I do not guarantee anything."

Jessica frowned and crossed her arms saying, "I'm leaving then."

Starscream and Thrust then materialized beside Megatron and Jessica bit her tongue since they were both seekers and could catch her.

"You were saying?" Megatron spoke.

"Never mind...look, Sideways did kidnap me, and he brought me here to that base of his."

"Base?" Megatron questioned and didn't notice as Thrust briefly stiffened.

"It's right down here...you didn't know he had a base of his own?"

Megatron ignored her question and jumped down from the cliff. He immediately noticed the hole, and when he looked inside he growled and turned back to Jessica demanding to know, "What was he doing here?"

"I don't know, ask Thrust, he seems to work in coincidence with him."

Thrust took a step back definitely out of his comfort zone as he immediately said, "I have no idea...I didn't even know Sideways had a base of his own."

Megatron narrowed his optics at him, the issue of Jessica being kidnapped obviously forgotten and remarked, "I hope two of my subordinates were not plotting against me right under my nose."

"Of course not sir, I would never think of betraying you."

Starscream huffed at that and said, "Well, if I'm not needed here, I'm going back to the base."

Megatron nodded, "As you wish Starscream. Thrust, get out of my sight, and like Sideways, I'll deal with you in the morning too."

"Uh..yes sir," Thrust replied and headed back to the base.

When he was gone, Megatron turned to Jessica and asked, "Just what is Sideways so eager to accomplish with you? He views you as nothing more than an experiment."

"That's what you think...I was convinced otherwise, now I'm leaving."

"I never said you could leave," Megatron replied seizing her arm in his grasp before she had the chance to run, "A hostage is always useful."

Jessica couldn't believe her luck, first Sideways, now this. There was no telling what would happen now, now that she was not only at the mercy of Sideways, but the rest of the decepticons as well. Life had just gotten much, much harder. And she didn't even bother to struggle as Megatron activated the warp sequence and took them both back to the decepticon base. He then dragged her down to the prison where he threw her in one of the many cells, one she couldn't escape from even as a human. And without a word, he left, and again, Jessica was trapped.

When he was gone, the girl took in her surroundings, and they were absolutely horrible. A pipe was broken and leaking in the corner, the cot she was to use as a bed was just a cold and unfriendly looking slab of metal. The floor was covered in dirt and various debris, the ceiling looked ready to cave in at any moment, and the walls had slimy gooey material on them in various areas. It was dark and dank, the only light there was came from a dim and flickering light in the hallway. Jessica sat down on the metal slab that was supposed to be a bed and held her knees to her chest. All of this was so depressing, and tears fell from her optics once again.

"Home," she managed to say through quivering lips, "I want to go home."

* * *

Optimus laid on his bed, tossing and turning, and finally accepted the fact he couldn't fall asleep not knowing if Jessica was alright or not. He laid on his back looking up the plain and dull ceiling. His spark throbbed with every beat it took...he missed his Jess...he was worried sick about her. He couldn't trust Sideways, not at all. And he was so afraid that he would hurt Jessica, it terrified him and kept him from sleeping now.

He thought about radioing Jessica to find out if she was alright, but there was no telling if that was the best thing to do. Sideways could be with her, as much as Optimus didn't want to think that. And Optimus knew he wouldn't put his mind to ease until he knew...and he had to risk it...as much as he didn't want to hurt Jessica by making this call, it killed him not knowing.

Sitting up on the bed, the autobot leader activated his comlink radioed Jessica saying, "Jess, you there?"

* * *

Jessica jumped when she suddenly heard Optimus's voice through her comlink. It was so good to hear his voice, it felt like a mother and father being reunited with a long lost child. Unable to control her voice though, she sobbed into her comlink, "Optimus..."

"Jess, are you alright? Is Sideways there?"

"Fine...I'm fine, no, he's not here. We were discovered by the decepticons, I'm in their prison now."

"Tomorrow then, bright and early, I'm going to come get you, alright? And I'm never going to let you out of my site again."

Jessica sniffled saying, "I shouldn't have left, I should've--

"Jessica, it doesn't matter! You were trying to do the right thing, I understand that...I only wish you would've told me."

"You should hate me," she cried, "I only cause trouble...I can't do anything right."

"No Jess, never. I love you, do you understand? Nothing can replace how I feel for you Jess, and I'll get you out of there.

"Optimus..." she breathed again, trying to ward off the tears that were threatening to spill from her optics again, "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, it's okay," he said attempting to calm her down and reassure her, "Have you gotten any sleep at all?"

"No," she replied.

"Then go to sleep, I don't care how disgusting the place is you're in, you're going to sleep."

Jessica smiled and Optimus was thrilled when he heard her smile. He said, "I'm not getting off this comlink until I know you're asleep. Now you don't have to pretend I'm there with you because I am now."

The girl laid down on the metal slab, feeling a bit better. She hugged herself in order to keep herself warm and said, "Thank you Optimus."

"It's the least I can do. Now, go to sleep."

Jessica let her optics go offline and it wasn't long before sleep had nearly consumed her. Sighing, she whispered in a tired voice, "I love you Optimus."

The last thing Jessica heard was Optimus saying he loved her before she feel into a pleasant sleep. Optimus sighed hearing her breathing rhythms relax and turned off his comlink. With the knowledge that Jessica was alright for now, he laid back down on his bed and soon fell asleep himself.

Sideways stepped out from the shadows and watched as Jessica slept. He had heard every word of their conversation, and planned to use it for his own benefit. Chuckling quietly to himself he said, "I hope you have sweet dreams now Jessica, for in the morning, your nightmares will begin."

* * *

Well, that's the end for now...reviews are appreciated! 


	15. All That is Done is Forgiven

Well, this is the last story that I'll update in 2007! Happy New Years everybody! (throws out confetti)

* * *

_Chapter Fifteen: All That is Done is Forgiven_

Jessica woke up the next morning to the unpleasant feeling of something slowly moving down her arm. When she looked, she saw some of the gross slime dripping down her arm that had previously been on the wall. "Oh gross," she exclaimed sitting up and wiping the slime off. She felt completely disgusted and appalled that Megatron would make her stay in a cell of these atrocious conditions. Glancing at the unsafe looking ceiling, Jessica suddenly realized something, the ceiling was flimsy enough for her to break through.

But then she wondered if breaking through the ceiling was the right thing to do. Optimus had said he would be coming for her this morning, perhaps it was best if she just stayed put and waited for him. Jessica glanced around the prison cell and remembered the disgusting slime on her arm. _"No,"_ she thought, _"I won't stay here a second longer."_ And with that she stood and suddenly propelled herself at the ceiling. She came crashing through and caused a big stir of dirt and dust.

When the debris cleared, Jessica found herself in a dark, poorly lit hallway. She had obviously no idea where she was, but she did know that if she got outside the base she could go back to earth, back to the autobot base, and back to Optimus.

Jessica landed on the floor of the hallway and began her search for an exit. She just hoped it wouldn't be too hard to find one. Besides, she was sick of running into obstacles, it was about time something went her way. And she remembered to keep her guard up. The decepticons were, sneaky, clever, and _never_ were they to be underestimated.

Suddenly Jessica was hit by a bad feeling. Something wasn't right, and she felt like she was being followed. She pulled out her gun and looked behind herself...no one. Feeling a bit better, she turned back around only to be face to face with Thrust. She gasped from shock which caused Thrust to chuckle. Angry, she pointed her gun at him saying, "Get out of my way."

"No," he answered batting the gun out of her hand.

"Oh, that did it buddy!" she snarled tackling him to the floor. She was just about to punch him when he flipped them so that she lay pinned beneath him.

"What are you doing out of your cell?" he questioned.

Jessica spat in his face causing Thrust to become distracted. She then flipped them back over so she was on top and replied, "I'll answer that question after I rip off that cone of yours and pound your face in!"

"Leave my cone out of this!"

"No way buster," she responded punching him in the optic, shattering it.

He cried out in pain as Jessica continued punching him in the face without mercy. She was just about to deliver another blow when she heard someone to her right suddenly clear their throat. Jessica looked only to see Megatron and the barrel of the requiem blaster pointed directly at her. Megatron had an amused expression on his face and Jessica saw his finger waiting ready on the trigger.

"Get up femme," he said, "I still have yet to deal with Thrust myself."

And slowly Jessica stood, and that's when she noticed Sideways standing behind Megatron. _"Oh Primus,"_ she thought, _"Why don't I ever learn?"_

Megatron lowered the gun and looked to Thrust saying, "You miserable excuse for a soldier, get up."

Thrust got up silently and watched Megatron's gaze travel back to Jessica. He looked her over before he asked, "Why are you out of your cell?"

"Um..." Jessica responded trying to think of an answer that wouldn't get the decepticon leader mad and finally said, "I think I'll be going now."

"I don't think so," Megatron stated allowing the requiem blaster minicons to separate and transform, "Sideways reported you contacted Optimus Prime last night and he is on his way here."

Jessica shot a glare to Sideways who returned her glare. "Can't you decepticons mind your own business?" she asked.

Megatron smirked and replied, "Nonetheless, a trap has been set for the autobots. Don't even bother attempting to warn them, all comlink communication has been disabled. Thanks for providing an end to the war, Jessica."

The girl felt her jaw drop slightly and anger quickly set in. Grabbing Megatron by the neck, she pulled him down to her height and growled, "You can't do that."

Megatron grinned and said, "Watch me. The decepticons have no rules, and as leader of the decepticons, I can do _anything_."

"Whatever happened to honor?"

"The autobots don't deserve honor."

Jessica looked him over before she shoved him away and ran down the hall. Megatron stood to his full height and said, "Thrust, Sideways, obtain her bring her to me. And do it quickly, before the autobots get here. If you shall fail, I will personally dismantle you both."

"Eh, yes sir," Thrust replied and went off down the hall after Jessica.

"Aren't you going Sideways?" Megatron asked with a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

"As you command sir," Sideways replied and went off after Thrust and Jessica.

Megatron watched as his subordinate disappeared into the darkness of the hallway and then looked to the requiem blaster minicons. He grinned wickedly. It was only a matter of time before victory was his.

* * *

Optimus looked over the autobots before him in the command center. He explained the situation to them, and as he did he hoped to Primus that the result of this rescue mission would turn out just like the first: he'd get his Jessica back and everyone, especially her, would be alright. This was her third day gone now...the seventy-two hours hadn't quite expired yet, but still, it was time. Especially since the decepticons had Jessica in their custody, again.

"When we get to the decepticon base, we will stay together as a team. We cannot risk splitting up because the decepticons will pick us off one by one. Now, be prepared for anything, the decepticons could be expecting us this time," Optimus explained to his troops and then paused briefly before continuing, "And if it does turn out we are wandering into a trap, Primus be with us."

Some of the autobots looked to the floor and then back up to their leader. They knew Optimus would never lead them into a dangerous situation unless he knew that they could make it, or unless the life of another fellow autobot was at stake. Optimus was willing to take risks, and usually when he took a risk, things turned out in the autobots favor. Optimus gave his troops the option to stay behind, and that he would think nothing less of them if they did, but no one wanted to stay. Seeing this, the autobot leader made his famous command, "Autobots, transform and roll out."

All of them headed off to the warp room and deployed. Optimus was the last one through the warp gate.

* * *

Jessica continued running down the hallway hoping that she would miraculously find an exit and escape to the autobot base before the autobots would come. She turned around a corner only to get the shock of a lifetime. A dead end. _"No,"_ she pleaded with herself, _"No, no, NO!"_ Furious, she kicked the wall and tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill from her optics.

"It looks like our precious little experiment has come across a dead end," came a cynical voice from behind her.

The girl turned around only to see Thrust and Sideways blocking her only escape and pointing their guns at her. Bitterly she accepted the truth, she was caught, again. She just couldn't do anything for herself...but all of this was all her own fault. "I hate all of you," she breathed venomously.

"You're coming with us," Sideways explained grasping her tightly, painfully, by the arm and started dragging her rather quickly back down the hallway, "Megatron isn't finished with you yet."

"_You worthless jerk,"_ she thought, _"You can't stay out of trouble. Optimus shouldn't rescue you, you don't deserve it."_

It was a few minutes before they arrived back to Megatron who was waiting at the end of the hallway for them. Sideways turned Jessica over to him, and he grabbed her arm even tighter causing her to wince. He then looked to Sideways and Thrust saying, "Return to your positions immediately."

Thrust and Sideways left and Megatron looked down to Jessica. "Behave like you should and I'll spare your miserable life," he said and yanked her down the hallway with him.

He led her to the the throne room, an empty throne room. The rest of the decepticons were gone, where, Jessica didn't know, and she wished more than anything that she could warn the autobots, especially Optimus. She didn't want anything to happen to any of them. They didn't deserve to suffer for her stupidity.

Megatron threw her into the throne room and she stumbled inside, catching herself just before she fell to the floor. Angrily, she turned back to Megatron only to see him blocking the entrance to the room. He waited for her to say something, and when she didn't, he fired a single shot from his swing cannon, hitting her in the side of the head. It wasn't a very powerful shot, but it was enough to send her to the floor dazed. Jessica struggled to maintain consciousness as her optics began to flicker and her vision blur. Her optics flickered once and when they came back on she saw Megatron moving towards her. They flickered again, the darkness longer this time...and it happened again, until she fell into darkness completely.

* * *

The autobots emerged inside the decepticon warp room, only to discover that no decepticons were around. Some of them eased a bit, but Optimus told them to stay on their guards. Optimus stood before his troops, and then made his way over to the door. "Autobots," he spoke up, "Let's do this."

And they began their search for Jessica.

* * *

All of the decepticon troops had positioned themselves in secret corridors along the hallway that led from the warp room to the throne room. They had strict orders from Megatron to separate Optimus from the rest of the autobots and lead him to the throne room alone, where Megatron would be waiting. And the decepticons knew this would be easier said than done. Especially since the autobots were more than likely expecting a trap. But Sideways had a good idea, an extremely good idea...one that might just lead to the defeat of the autobots.

Cyclonus and Demolishor waited silently and patiently for the autobots to make their way down the hallway. Demolishor had his guns ready while Cyclonus waited to press a button. Their patience finally paid off though when the autobots came into view. The two decepticons stood ready, and when the autobots were in the correct position, Cyclonus pressed the button causing thick black smoke to pour into the hallway from nowhere. Demolishor fired into the autobots, trying to startle and add as much confusion as possible for the autobots. Cyclonus then pressed another button and a wall came down from the ceiling, a thick, heavy wall, separating the autobots.

The smoke had disabled the autobots from seeing where the shots were fired from, and when the smoke finally cleared, Optimus looked behind only to see the faces of some of his men, and a wall. Jetfire, Scavenger, Hotshot, and Red Alert were the only one's with him now. The rest of the autobots had been trapped behind the wall.

"Sir, what do we do now?" Hotshot asked.

Optimus pondered this for a moment, "We'll get them out and then resume our search for Jessica."

Scavenger shook his head, "No Optimus. Jessica cannot wait for us."

"Scavenger's right," Red Alert chimed in, "Hotshot and I will stay behind and get the rest of the guys out while you, Jetfire, and Scavenger continue looking for Jessica. We'll meet back up with you as soon as we can."

Optimus, as much as he didn't want to split up, knew this was the only option. He nodded, and he, Jetfire, and Scavenger continued forward, now ready for anything.

* * *

When Jessica regained consciousness, she had a rather painful headache. She tried to sit up, only to realize she was already in an upright position. Her optics slowly came online and she saw she was shackled to the wall, Megatron paying no mind to her. He had the requiem blaster in his hand and his attention was fixed intently on the entrance to the command center. It didn't take Jessica too long to realize he was waiting for the autobots.

* * *

Starscream, Wheeljack, and Tidalwave stood at their positions waiting for whatever autobots remained. They were to attack them full on, with the exception of Optimus, who was supposed to be driven to the throne room. It wasn't too long before they heard the autobots coming up the hall. When the autobots were in position, Starscream issued the attack and they began their onslaught on the three remaining autobots. Scavenger and Jetfire were immediately engaged in a fight with the three decepticons. Optimus looked back at them only to catch Jetfire's gaze.

"Go Optimus," his second in command said, "We'll catch up after we deal with these guys."

"No Jetfire," Optimus replied and raised his wrist cannon.

"No, Optimus! Jetfire's right, Jessica is the reason we came, go get her!" Scavenger shouted.

Optimus looked at them a long moment before he nodded and ran off towards the decepticon throne room.

* * *

Megatron heard the footsteps long before Jessica did, and she watched as the leader of the decepticons immediately perked up. Jessica felt her spark skip a beat when she saw none other than Optimus Prime walk into the room. He noticed her instantly and then looked to Megatron who had the requiem blaster. Optimus on the other hand had nothing to defend himself from the blaster. Smokescreen had the skyboom shield, Starscream had the star saber...there was absolutely nothing that could defend him from the blaster's powerful beam.

"Megatron," Optimus finally spoke up, "Let Jessica go."

Tidalwave, who had followed Optimus, appeared behind the autobot leader in the doorway blocking his escape. Megatron grinned and said, "Optimus, just give it up. You're trapped, surrender to me now, and I won't kill Jessica." And he aimed the requiem blaster at her.

Optimus glanced over to Jessica, not sure what to do. The last thing on earth he wanted to do was lose her, but he certainly didn't want to lose the war either. He needed a distraction.

"I'm not going to wait all day for your response Prime."

"Optimus," Jessica breathed and he looked over to her, "Don't give up the war for me. Do you understand? If you do that, everything you've ever fought for the last millions of years will have gone to waste."

Megatron made as if he rolled his optics. He could sense a tender, touchy moment coming, and he didn't want to witness it. "Sideways, Thrust, silence the girl," Megatron ordered.

Sideways and Thrust stepped out from the shadows surprising Jessica. She caught Sideways's gaze and he caught hers. She narrowed her optics at him, but she could see amusement in his. He was planning something. The two decepticons came over to her, Thrust slapped a hand over her mouth, and Sideways just stood beside her.

Megatron turned his attention back to Optimus who glared at him saying, "Stop all this nonsense."

"Not until you surrender."

Jessica felt chills creep through her torso when Sideways suddenly leaned in and whispered deathly quiet into her audio receptor, "I'm going to let you go, don't you dare say anything."

Jessica glanced over at him and saw his wrist cannon pointed at the chains on the shackles. She was utterly confused as to why he was doing this.

* * *

Jetfire and Scavenger managed to get past the decepticons they were fighting and quickly ran to the throne room of the base where Tidalwave stood with there back to them. Jetfire looked to Scavenger who motioned for him to be quiet and whispered the plan of attack to him. The second in command nodded when he heard it and he and Scavenger moved into position.

* * *

A distraction still hadn't presented itself and Optimus was beginning to fear that he would have to surrender. He was not going to sacrifice Jessica, even if she had told him to. He saw Megatron's finger twitch impatiently on the trigger of the gun. He sighed, until he heard gunshots behind him. The autobot and decepticon leaders looked to see Tidalwave falling over. Provided with the distraction, Optimus made his way over to Jessica, just as Sideways blasted her free.

Jessica stumbled away from the wall and ran over to Optimus who took her in his arms, not caring that the rest of the decepticons were in the room. He held her against him and asked quietly, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"How did you get free?"

"Sideways let me go."

Megatron looked at them in disgust and then turned to Thrust and Sideways. He aimed the requiem blaster at them asking, "How'd she get away?"

"I honestly don't know sir," Thrust replied looking to Sideways.

Sideways walked up to Megatron and said, "Sir, if I may have permission, I would like to borrow the requiem blaster briefly."

"For what?" Megatron asked gruffly.

Sideways gestured over to Optimus and Jessica. Megatron grinned wickedly, and then handed the gun to Sideways. He looked the gun over a minute before he pointed it at Optimus and Jessica. The girl looked out away from Optimus and noticed. Her spark nearly stopped beating from shock. "Optimus," she whispered.

He looked out and saw Sideways aiming the requiem blaster at them. Jetfire and Scavenger looked on from the door, afraid that if they attempted anything that they might risk having both Jessica and Optimus being fired upon. Optimus loosened his grip on her and whispered to her, "Get out of here."

"No," she whispered back.

"Jessica, please."

"Jessica, I told you I was going to kill Prime, I just didn't think I'd be killing you as well," Sideways spoke gleefully, pulling the trigger.

Optimus pushed Jessica away and she watched horrified as a white-pink blast traveled from the barrel of the gun towards Optimus. He didn't have time to dodge it, and Jessica felt hot tears pour down her cheeks as the blast hit him.

_Couldn't save you from the start_

_Love you so it hurts my soul_

_Can you forgive me for trying again?_

_Your silence makes me hold my breath_

_All the time has passed you by_

The force of the blast knocked him against the wall, and he cried out as it tore through his midsection. Jessica went to run over to him when the blast ended, but Thrust held her back, and Sideways fired again. Optimus looked up to Jessica.

_For so long I've tried to shield you from the world_

_You couldn't face the freedom on your own_

_Here I am_

_Left in silence_

Optimus collapsed to his knees and Jessica ran over to him. He had a gaping hole in his abdomen and he grabbed Jessica and held her close to him. She sobbed into his chest as the rest of the autobots arrived and started fighting the rest of the decepticons.

"Jessica, Jess, I'm sorry," he breathed, his voice full of pain.

"No, this is all my fault," she cried.

He held her closer to him. He could feel himself getting weaker, but oh he didn't want to leave her behind. He couldn't.

_You gave up the fight_

_You left me behind_

_All that's done's forgiven_

_You'll always be mine_

_I know deep inside_

_All that's done's forgiven_

"Jessica," Optimus breathed, "I'm not going to make it okay? I...I need you to...promise me something."

She looked at him, her face stained with tears and she whimpered, "Anything for you Optimus."

"Take care of the autobots for me...they look up to you," he replied and weakly raised a hand to remove his face mask. It clicked off and he handed it to her, "Keep it."

She took it and looked at it. Optimus watched her for a moment before he ran a hand up her arm and to her neck. He gently pulled her face to his and kissed her, with all the strength he had left.

_Watched the clouds drifting away_

_Still the sun can't warm my face_

_I know it was destined to go wrong_

_You were looking for the great escape_

_To chase your demons away_

Jessica's tears slid down Optimus's cheeks, along with her own. If she had never left, none of this would have ever happened. She felt so terrible, so heartbroken, and it didn't help that Sideways had lived up to his word. Here she was, holding a dying Optimus in her arms. He sighed deeply and ran his tongue along her lips. Jessica eagerly allowed him access to her mouth. If only this moment would never ever end...if only for once an ending wouldn't come.

_For so long I've tried to shield you from the world_

_You couldn't face the freedom on your own_

_Here I am_

_Left in silence_

The pain was unbearable and slowly, Optimus felt it overtaking him. It wasn't long now, his end was very near, just moments away. He pulled away from Jessica and looked at her, cupping her face in his hands. "Jessica..." he breathed.

_You gave up the fight_

_You left me behind_

_All that's done's forgiven_

_You'll always be mine_

_I know deep inside_

_All that's done's forgiven_

"Optimus," she replied, scared to death, and knowing what was coming.

"I love you," he replied, "I'll...I'll be waiting for you...inside the matrix."

"Oh Optimus," she sobbed into his chest, "I love you too...I love you so much. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay Jess," he breathed and his optics went out as he breathed one last time, "It's okay..."

She heard the little whirs of the systems inside him silence, and her spark shattered. He was gone, her one and only love was gone, and she was left behind, without him, she had to carry on...alone.

Optimus Prime was dead.

_I've been so lost since you've gone_

_Why not me before you?_

_Why did fate deceive me?_

_Everything turned out so wrong_

_Why did you leave me in silence?_

Jessica couldn't pull herself away from his body. She felt so terrible, she just wanted to die herself. She looked out to the fighting decepticons and autobots and saw that the autobots were winning, though the decepticons were too giddy about the death of Optimus Prime. And suddenly, her optics locked on an all too happy Sideways. Anger and rage burned through her circuits. She would kill him and avenge Optimus, if it was the last thing she did.

_You gave up the fight_

_You left me behind_

_All that's done's forgiven_

_You'll always be mine_

_I know deep inside_

_All that's done's forgiven_

She stood and went to go rip Sideways to shreds when someone pulled her back. Jessica looked to see Jetfire had grabbed hold of her. He said, "We're getting you out of here."

"What about Optimus?" she asked, tears welling back up in her optics.

"I got him," Scavenger replied lifting up the fallen leader's body, "Let's get back to the base."

Jetfire issued a retreat and the autobots quickly left the decepticon base. Without Optimus, things weren't going to be the same again. Before leaving the throne room, Jessica glanced behind herself and gave Sideways a death glare. She could almost hear him say, "Bring it on Jessie, bring it on."

* * *

When they got back to the base, Optimus's body was immediately taken to the med bay to see if there was any possible thing Red Alert could do to revive the fallen leader. After an hour or so of examination, Red Alert finally broke the grim new that there was nothing he could do. Optimus was dead, there was no bringing him back. The autobot medic then did a quick examination of Jessica, and after repairing some minor wounds, he dismissed her.

Jessica looked to Optimus's body before she left. She gave a proud salute to him before turning and leaving the med bay, tears streaming down her face. Her life felt over. The walk to her quarters seemed to take forever. And when she finally made it inside, she locked the door and burst into tears. Her Optimus was gone! All of it was her fault, and she hated herself. It could have all been prevented if only she hadn't had runaway.

She collapsed on her bed holding Optimus's facemask close to her. She was exhausted, and slowly, yet reluctantly let sleep overcome her. Tonight was going to be a long night...and the next few days were going to be even worse.

_"Thanks for providing an end to the war, Jessica."_

_

* * *

_

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeellll, I know one person that's not gonna be happy with me killing off Optimus...but...still...Happy New Years everyone! By the way, the song is Forgiven by Within Temptation. It ain't mine, and could you leave me a New Years present? I wanna review please! Oh, and a heads up, the story is near completion...


	16. Endings Are Only Beginnings

I've decided that I'm going to go attack force delta on this story only because it's almost done, just a few more chapters. That way I can focus on my other stories once this one is out of the way. And it's not that I don't like this story, I love writing it, it's just that I need more time first of all, I've got other stories waiting in the works, and yeah, it's almost done. So, enjoy this chappie.

* * *

_Chapter Sixteen: Endings Are Only Beginnings_

Just about a week went by, and during that week, Hotshot had been appointed leader of the autobots. Jessica had nothing to do with the decision though, she knew deep down inside her heart that no one could replace Optimus, the only person she gave heart and soul for, the only person she loved and who loved her in return. The days just hadn't been the same without him. When she found the strength to venture around the base, she noticed that everyone was depressed. Whenever the autobots were working, they'd break into disputes over the smallest things. Morale was way down, farther down than it had been for the longest time. Optimus had been the one to hold the autobots together, he had been the one who had led them to victory after victory, he had been the one to care about them all, and now he was gone...destroyed in a matter of moments.

"_I can't live without him,"_ Jessica cried mentally.

She sat on her bed hugging her knees to her chest. Out of all the people in the world, it had to be Optimus that was ripped away. The person she cared about the most was now just a memory. His body had been repaired completely by Red Alert, though, he lacked a spark, and without a spark, he couldn't live. Optimus was gone, and there was no way he could come back without a spark. And it was just her luck. Her time with him had almost been too good to be true because of all the chaos that was going on around her. She was so imperfect, she caused so much trouble for the autobots, and he still loved her. And she just missed him so much.

The first morning she woke up after his death was like waking up into a nightmare, a black and white picture. She woke up crying, her spark felt like it was in desolate and complete ruin. And she couldn't stop thinking about him, no matter how much she told herself not to. She felt like life was taking forever to get through, like all daylight had suddenly been terminated, that darkness was drowning her and biting so painfully at her spark. And she wanted to do was die. And she didn't care how she died, she just wanted to, so she could be with her Optimus again.

When Jessica had first heard that Hotshot was going to be replacing Optimus as commander of the autobots, she hadn't been too thrilled. She believed the yellow bot was too young, too inexperienced to be the leader of the autobots. He tended to do things on impulse instead of thinking things through, something Jessica knew was a terrible crime since she had committed it so many times. But most of all, he wasn't Optimus. Hotshot wasn't the one who took on Megatron or rescued her, Optimus was. Optimus was always the one to come rescue Jessica, he was the one who kept her safe and made her smile even if she didn't want to. And she didn't want to see anyone take her fallen love's place. It just hurt too much.

"_I miss him so much," _she whimpered trying to hold back the tears.

The look on Sideways's face after he had killed Optimus made Jessica want to rip him apart every time she remembered it. She could see herself aiming the requiem blaster at him, not giving him the option of having any last words. But it would satisfy her so much more if she could actually rip him apart, to feel as his armor separated from metallic flesh, to feel the circuitry and wires detach from his systems. And she would make him bleed, she would empty his body of all the fluids it contained, and she would grin as his blood stained her hands. Maybe she would even run her own experiments on him, dissect him while he was still alive...cut him open, make him scream and beg...make him say he was sorry, and then not accept the apology, then kill him.

Jessica shook her head. She was an autobot, she shouldn't be thinking those things. Optimus would have probably yelled at her if he knew what she was thinking...but there was no way he could. Death was as frustrating as it was painful. Jessica slammed her fist into her bed. What she would give for just one more moment with him, just one more time to tell him that she loved him...one last chance to save him. But Jessica knew that if it had been her that had died, Optimus would be going through the same thing right now...and she never wanted him to suffer like she was right now. And she was even more sure that Optimus didn't want her suffering like she was right now...and if he was looking down upon her now, she hoped he wouldn't be mad.

Mad at her for doing everything wrong, for screwing everything up, for burdening the autobots so, for costing Optimus his life. For sending the autobots into a terrible depression, for killing the morale that had been building, for never listening, for not thinking, and most of all, for failing him miserably.

Her shoulders heaved as she let out a sob. A part of her screamed to let out everything that she was keeping inside, but another part of her was screaming at her to remain silent because no matter how loud she screamed or cried Optimus wasn't coming back. And she just couldn't get it out of her head that everything was her fault. If she had never tried to go back to see her parents and set everything straight with them, Optimus would still be alive right now...she'd be holding him right now, so tightly in her arms...and she'd never ever let him go because he could so easily slip away.

"_Optimus, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to be the reason for the end of the war...the reason for the end of your life...oh Primus, Optimus please forgive me, please! Come back to me...please...I need you...so badly...I love you...so much...being without you hurts too much,"_ she thought feeling so weak and helpless.

She had cried an ocean of tears and Optimus still hadn't come back. Her heart had broken and Optimus still hadn't come back. She had waited for him and he still hadn't come back...and she was still waiting...waiting for death now.

Jessica swallowed hard. She needed to see Optimus again, to touch him again...even if it was his dead body, which Red Alert had honorably placed away until the funeral. The femme slowly got up from her bed, as if in a daze, and sluggishly exited the room. It felt like she was walking down a tunnel of time and past memories as she made her way to the med bay to see Red Alert. Every little thing that she did was the hardest thing in the world to do. Everything felt colder now...darker...drained of color...grayer...dull, broken. Nothing was right now that Optimus was gone, and Jessica had a gut feeling that nothing would ever be quite right again without her Optimus.

She entered the med bay but stopped just a few feet inside the room. Red Alert looked up at her, Jessica watching him, and she watched his face as it so quickly changed from an expression of boredom and pain to one of concern and pain. There was silence between them for a moment before Red Alert asked, "Jessica, is something wrong?"

"I want to see Optimus," she mumbled.

"What?"

"I want to see Optimus," she repeated, this time loud enough for the autobot medic to hear.

Red Alert was silent for a moment before he said, "You would need Hotshot's permission in order to see it."

"Okay then let me rephrase myself," Jessica stated and then remarked, "You are going to let me see Optimus, permission needed or not. And it's best you do not argue with me."

Red Alert frowned and looked Jessica over. He knew she had taken Optimus's death really hard, so much harder than she should have. And he had tried to make her feel better, he had been giving her sedatives to help her sleep at night since she was having trouble sleeping. He had let her talk to him about anything she wanted to...but each time she would close up and burst into tears, unable to say anything. Perhaps he could help her this time as well, he wanted her to get better because he knew Optimus would have wanted her in the best health out of all the autobots.

"Fine, come with me," he replied and led her to a back room that went off from the med bay.

Inside was Optimus's body, it was resting peacefully upon a marble bed. His armor was polished to perfection, any wound that he had had, small or large was gone. It only looked like he was in the middle of a deep recharge...it was so hard to tell that he was dead. Jessica looked to Red Alert and he looked back saying, "I'll give you a few minutes, but that's all." And he walked away.

Jessica didn't bother to watch the medic leave and turned her full attention to her fallen love. She slowly walked over to him and sat beside him, the air as silent as the grave. At the moment, Jessica couldn't find any tears, none were forming in her optics, but she knew eventually more would come. She had an endless supply of tears for Optimus.

She slowly reached out and ran a gentle hand down his cheek, his faceplate missing. Jessica had kept it with her, it was in her subspace now, and that's where it was staying. It was her only piece of Optimus that she knew she could never ever let go. She sighed deeply and moved her hand down so it rested on his chest.

Without warning, his chest plate suddenly made a hissing noise and opened, not only startling Jessica, but exposing something of such great magnificence that she was stunned into awe. Jessica wasn't sure what the object was that was kept within Optimus's chest. She knew it had to be of great importance if he had never let anyone see it, not even her. Awed so much, Jessica suddenly found herself taking the object out of his chest and holding it in her hands. It shined marvelously, catching the light in all it's grooves and corners. What fascinated her the most was the blue gem glowing and pulsing in the center of the object. Her curiosity as to what it was compelled her to reach out a finger and touch it, and when she did, she was horrified when a little tiny piece of the blue gem fell off into her hand.

She had broke a bit of it off. Jessica felt terrible for even touching it then, and knew she had to put it back. She looked back to Optimus's chest, only to notice a hole, a hole where his spark had once been pulsing with life and love. Now there was nothing...absolutely nothing.

Jessica held back a sob as she looked back to the broken object in her hands. She couldn't do anything right. She had broken something that Optimus had probably had held near and dear to him. But she wouldn't have him go without it. Without thinking, Jessica placed the broken off bit of the gem inside Optimus's empty spark chamber. And what happened then left her in the greatest shock of her life.

Instead of the bit falling into the depths of Optimus's spark chamber, it stopped and floated in the center of it. Jessica watched completely mystified as the bit slowly began to shake, until it began shaking uncontrollably. Suddenly, it burst creating a blinding blue light, forcing Jessica to shield her optics. It was a few minutes before the light died down, and when Jessica was finally able to look back at Optimus, she nearly fainted when she saw a pulsing blue spark beating with life inside the spark chamber that moments ago had been totally barren.

"R-R-Red Alert," she stuttered, voice hoarse and after a few seconds realized he didn't hear her and she shouted frantically, "Red Alert!"

Red Alert ran into the room and over to Jessica and immediately saw the spark inside Optimus's chest. Shocked, he grabbed her by the shoulders and demanded, "What did you do?"

Scared she replied crying, "I-I found this thing in his chest and a little piece of it came off, and I put that in his chest and then that spark formed."

"That thing Jessica, is the matrix of leadership. It's true powers are unknown...but Jess...it seems now it can create life."

Her heart skipped at least a dozen beats, "Create life?"

"I'm not positive, but we'll see. Keep an optic out for--

Optimus's internal systems began to whir with the familiar buzz that Jessica had realized was the most beautiful sound in the universe. His fingers twitched...and, some several seconds later, bright yellow optics burst online with an all too familiar and an extremely missed flare. And the first thing Optimus's gaze caught was Jessica.

"J-Jess..." he murmured stuttering, still considerably weak.

Jessica felt her jaw drop and finally managed to say, "Optimus?"

"What are you doing here...inside the matrix?" he asked.

Jessica felt a smile stretch across her face and tears slide down her cheeks as she replied, "Optimus...you're not inside the matrix anymore...you're back. You're alive."

It was then Optimus noticed Red Alert and realized what Jessica said was true. Elation immediately overcame him and he sat up and captured Jessica in his arms. She laughed in delight as he did so, and then cried as he kissed her. It was all too good to be true...she had to be dreaming. But if this was a dream, she didn't want to wake up, so she wouldn't even bother pinching herself.

"What's wrong?" he asked so softly in that gentle, colorful voice of his as he wiped away her tears with his thumb.

"Nothing," she whimpered, unable to stop her crying, "I'm just so happy to have you back."

Optimus grinned and lifted her in his arms and got up from the marble bed. He turned to Red Alert and said, "Alert the other autobots that I'm back. However, I'm spending the rest of today and tonight with Jess, so both of us will be unavailable."

"Yes sir," Red Alert replied saluting, unable to keep back a grin.

Optimus nodded and walked out of the room with Jessica. They had a lot of catching up to do with each other, a lot of time to replace...a lot of healing to do. And Jessica was so happy to have her Optimus back. An unexpected dream come true, a nightmare turned into the best of all dreams. But try as she might, she still couldn't forgive herself for what she had done...and she didn't think she ever would. She only knew that what she had done could never happen again.

Snuggling tightly against Optimus, she recalled Megatron thanking her for providing an end to the war. She smiled lightly. _"Oh no, Megatron,"_ she thought, _"I only provided a beginning."_

_

* * *

_

There. You guys happy now? Optimus is back, next chapter is gonna contain lots of romance...so be prepared for it. Well...it's five minutes until 4AM...so I'm going to bed. Please leave a review, thankies.


	17. Let's Start A New Dream

Well, another update on this story. I'm just gonna keep updating this one until it's done. Two or three more chapters left...I'm not sure yet. But I gotta have the grand finale...which starts in the next chapter. But I'm pretty sure there's going to be three more chapters. And then it'll be done. And I'm still not planning a sequel. So...here's chapter 17...enjoy! Oh, and I haven't said this in a while, thanks to EVERYONE who is reviewing. You know who you are, and it's greatly appreciated.

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_Chapter Seventeen: Let's Start A New Dream_

Since her room was closer, Optimus took Jessica there and set her down just inside the room as the door hissed shut behind them. He held her tightly in his arms, she was pressed directly against his front. And there were no words to describe just how she felt. It was a mix of shock, ecstasy, joy, and love. Optimus seized her lips in a powerful, passionate kiss. And when they broke away, Jessica had tears streaming down her face again.

"Are you alright?" he breathed, his lips brushing against her cheek.

"I'm so much better now that you're back," Jessica replied. She wanted to move closer to him, but she was already as close as she could possibly be to him.

"I missed you," he said as he began kissing her neck.

"I missed you more," she responded, wrapping her arms around him tightly, afraid that she'd lose him if she let him go.

His hands ran tenderly up and down her back, he moved them here, and then there, he ran his hands anywhere Jessica permitted him. He didn't want to stop touching her, he had been denied from her so long, and he wasn't going to waste the time he had with her now. Optimus was going to make sure he repaired her broken heart, he knew it was broken, and he was going to make her feel beautiful, make her feel loved. And he was going to let her know that she was his and no one else's.

He pulled her into another kiss and guided her over to the bed. They laid down together on it, Optimus laying over Jessica. His hands glided and explored regions of her body that he had never felt, until now. Optimus moved the kiss away from her lips and to her audio receptor where he whispered so passionately, "I love you."

Jessica shivered, she couldn't hold it back. This love was almost too much, but Jessica knew it was what she had always wanted. And never again would she take it for granted. She saw how easily love could turn into heartbreak, and she never ever wanted that to happen again. Losing Optimus once was hard enough, Jessica knew she would die if something else ever happened to him. From now on in her life, it would be Optimus first and then her because she loved him so much more than she did herself.

His lips found their way back up to hers and he kissed her again, holding her tight. Primus, he didn't know how he had found a love like this. He had fallen for Jessica so fast and so hard, and he knew that he could never love another person like this. Optimus kissed her with all the love and passion that he could. He never wanted to let her go, he never wanted to let her out of his sight again. She sighed and Optimus gently slid his tongue inside her mouth. He ran his tongue over everything, loving her taste and unable to get enough of it. And his tongue dueled in a fierce battle with Jessica's...and he noticed as the kiss dragged on, that she either lost strength or interest in the kiss. Concerned he pulled away and said, "There's something wrong."

Jessica met his gaze and then glanced away without saying anything. She didn't want to tell him how much she still blamed herself for everything that had happened and how terribly depressed she still felt, even now that Optimus was back. How could she possibly tell the one she loved the most how she was the cause of every misfortune? Although, he probably already knew. Jessica sighed heavily, she felt so helpless, she felt so weak compared to Optimus. She didn't feel worthy of his love...not in the least.

"Jessica, tell me please," he whispered lying down beside her and pulling her against him.

She felt tears prick at her optics and pulled herself away from him sitting up on the bed. She couldn't look at him, she just couldn't. It made her feel so guilty when she looked at him. He sat up beside her and put an arm around her.

"Optimus..." she breathed, "You shouldn't love me."

Optimus felt a prick of pain in his spark suddenly, "Why shouldn't I?"

"Because...I do nothing but cause trouble. You always have to come and save me," she explained quietly.

"Jessica, it's alright."

"Optimus!" she cried suddenly, "Don't say that! I was the reason why you died! If I had stayed here, you would've never had to come and free me from the decepticons."

"Jessica, the reason why I died was because I was shot by the requiem blaster, which was fired by Sideways, not you. That's why I died. You weren't the one who killed me."

"It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't runaway."

Optimus sighed and said, "Jessica, stop blaming yourself for everything."

"I can't," she whimpered, "Because both you and I know that everything is _my_ fault."

"Jessica--

"You deserve someone better than me, Optimus."

That did it. Optimus grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her down onto the bed where he pinned her. "Listen to me, Jessica," he stated almost growling, "I don't care that I died. Heck, I'd die a million deaths just to know you're okay. Stop beating yourself up over this, what's done is done, and you're forgiven, do you understand? You hadn't planned any of this to happen. If it was anyone's fault, it was the decepticons. And whatever you do, don't you dare say I deserve someone better than you again because you're all that I want Jess, you're flawless and perfect in my optics."

Jessica felt a tear slide down her cheek and she couldn't get her gaze off his optics. Had he really said she was flawless and perfect? Did he really say that he didn't care about his death? Had he really said that she was forgiven? Her spark felt like it was swelling from all the love being coursed through it. Oh just how had she managed to get a love like this? She had runaway without thinking...and look at her reward! Perhaps everything hadn't turned out as badly as she thought. She had Optimus, and that was all she needed.

"Optimus...I..." she trailed off causing him to smile.

"It's alright Jess. Now stop crying, it breaks my heart when I see you cry."

"But these are tears of happiness."

He kissed her lips and said, "They better be."

"They are."

He smiled and laid down beside her. After pulling her into his arms he said, "I take it you didn't get to see your parents."

"No. Sideways interfered with that."

"I'm going to kill him."

"Optimus, I want to do that," Jessica protested.

Optimus grinned, "Then we'll both kill him, the next time we see him, okay?"

"That sounds great," Jessica replied resting her head under his chin.

The autobot leader gently rubbed her back and let his optics go offline. He loved Jessica so much, he couldn't imagine the world without her. And he felt so guilty for dying on her. He had so much time to make up to her, and he was starting today. Optimus had been separated from Jessica so long, he couldn't stand being away from her anymore. He lived for her now, his spark beat for her now, and he would worship her and the ground she walked on. Never again would he let her go, never would he let her fall into the hands of the decepticons, especially Sideways, again. Both of them had gone through enough, they both had wounds to heal, and now that they had each other back, the healing process had begun. And both of them were healing quickly.

"Did you get to see your parents?" Optimus asked suddenly.

"No," Jessica replied sighing.

"Let's go see them then."

She looked up at him confused, "See them? You mean, _both_ you and me?"

"Yes. That is if you still want to see them."

"Of course I do, let's go," she exclaimed excited, "Wait...you don't transform into a human."

"No, I don't. But I do have a holoform," Optimus explained.

"Holoform?" she asked confused.

"You'll see," he answered kissing her cheek, "Now, like you said, let's go."

Jessica grinned, "I'll beat you to the warp room."

"You want a bet?"

"Okay," she replied getting up from the bed.

Optimus got up as well and said, "Alright, if I beat you, I get a kiss in front of your parents."

She smirked, "And if I win...I get a nice and juicy kiss in front of Sideways...and the rest of the autobots."

"Well then, I better win."

"You got to catch me if you want to win!" Jessica exclaimed and ran out the door.

Optimus shook his head and then realized something, _"She still has my facemask."_ He ran out the door and after his love shouting, "Jessica! Give me back my facemask!"

She heard him shout and hollered back, "Make me, Optimus!"

He caught up to her and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. "Okay," he said, "You want to play rough?"

Jessica smiled and tried to break free from his grasp. "Let me go, Optimus," she remarked, "Or you shall never see your facemask again!"

Optimus turned her in his arms and kissed her fiercely. Jessica let her guard down and completely melted into the kiss. Optimus noticed this and slid his hands to her sides where he began lightly stroking his fingers over some of her sensitive touch sensors. She flinched and broke the kiss saying, "Optimus stop, that tickles!"

"Oh does it now?" he inquired and started tickling her with more force.

"Stop it!" she laughed trying to pry his hands away from her.

"I'll only stop if you give me back my facemask," he replied kissing her neck and then breathing down it, hoping to interfere with more sensors.

Jessica felt shivers travel through her torso and leaned against her love sighing, "Wow."

He felt the biggest grin spread across his face. He didn't have to ask, he knew she liked that, a lot. He kissed her neck again, breathed down it slightly, and then kissed his way up to her audio receptor where he murmured, "I love you. Can I have my facemask back please?"

Jessica leaned her full weight against him and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist saying, "If you must have it back. I like it better when you have it off."

Optimus grinned and kissed her cheek, "I know."

"Why do you wear it anyway?"

"So you could fall in love with the tall, dark, and mysterious guy."

Jessica smiled and rested her head against his, "Dark? I don't see you as dark."

Optimus smiled, "That's because you lit up my life."

Jessica felt her spark melt and hugged Optimus tighter, "Oh Optimus, you do so much more to me."

Optimus was all she had ever asked for in a man, and so much more. He cared so much about her, Jessica thought she was a goddess, or an even higher being. He did everything in his power to make sure she was alright, to make sure she smiled and laughed. It was like heaven, except for when he died, but now, he was going above and beyond to heal her heartbreak. And it just felt so much more than good to have him back. It was like her life had been completed all over again, and she loved him so much, she couldn't get enough. And she wondered if this was how he felt about her.

He kissed the top of her head asking, "Do I now?"

"Yes."

He grinned, "Can I have my facemask back?"

Jessica smiled herself and pulled it out of her subspace. "Okay," she said, "If you must. But if you tickle me again, I'm taking it back."

"Oh really now?" he stated stroking a finger over a sensor on her side.

"Optimus!" she yelled and said, "Just wait until I beat you to the warp room!" And with that, she broke free from his embrace and took off towards the warp room.

* * *

It ended up being a tie. When the two of them had tried to squeeze through the door together, it didn't quite work, and they both decided to call it a tie. Thus meaning that they both won, and also meaning that Optimus got to kiss Jessica in front of her parents, and that Optimus had to kiss Jessica in front of Sideways and the autobots. Both of them were happy though, because they both won, and they both got kisses.

Being a gentlemen, Optimus removed himself from the doorway and bowed slightly gesturing Jessica through. She chuckled and stepped into the warp room and Optimus followed after her. He transformed into his vehicle mode and said, "Okay Jessica, transform into your human mode and hop in."

"Yes sir!" she replied and transformed into her human mode and then got inside of Optimus's cab. She fastened her seatbelt, and the two of them warped out of the base.

It wasn't long before the two of them arrived at Jessica's house. Optimus drove into the driveway, and Jessica saw her parents cars in the garage. Feeling a lump forming in her stomach she breathed, "They're home."

"It's going to be okay, Jess," Optimus replied.

She sighed and then got out of Optimus. She watched as a holographic male suddenly appeared in the seat of the semi. The man had jet black hair and golden eyes. He appeared to be in his late teens and early twenties. His body was muscular and in shape, and he was tall, about six foot four. He was wearing a black t-shirt with a red coat and blue jeans. He had black shoes on his feet that had blue stripes on them.

Jessica watched awed as the man got down from the semi chuckling, "What's wrong, Jess?"

It was Optimus's voice, and she felt her jaw drop. "Optimus?" she exclaimed nearly in disbelief.

"Like my holoform?" he asked and grinned as she nodded her head fierecly.

"How long have you had that?"

"Not that long. Red Alert first introduced this technology to us a few weeks before you came into the picture. We decided we'd use it, to help blend into the human world," Optimus explained.

"So how come I've never seen you use it until now?"

"I haven't had an occasion to use it, until now."

"Oh," she replied, "Well, let me go show you off to my parents then."

Optimus chuckled, "If you say so."

"I say so," Jessica remarked. She took him by the hand and led him over to the front door. It surprised her at first when she realized that she had been able to grab his hand and not go through him like a hologram. But then she knew this was technology that Red Alert had introduced. Knowing Red Alert, he was going to make things as advanced as possible.

Once at the front door, Jessica knocked, as awkward as it felt. She waited a few seconds before the door swung open revealing her mother. She clutched Optimus's hand tighter and asked, "Mom?"

Her mom stood in the doorway stunned as to what she was seeing. "Jessica?" she asked.

She smiled and nodded her head not knowing what else to do. Her mother then looked at Optimus and looked him over before turning her attention back to Jessica and capturing her in a hug. Jessica felt tears form in her eyes. She knew this was her real mother. It smelled like her, it felt like her, it looked like her, it sounded like her. It wasn't any Sideways in disguise. Sideways wouldn't know how to copy her real mother.

"Oh Jessica," her mother exclaimed, "Where have you been!? Your father and I have missed you so much, we've been looking everywhere for you!"

"I'm sorry mom," Jessica replied feeling the tears on her cheeks, "I shouldn't have left."

"It's okay Jess, we forgive you."

And Jessica felt her heart skip a beat. That had been all she wanted to hear from her parents. She didn't care if they still loved her or not, she just wanted to know if she was forgiven. And she felt so much weight lift from her shoulders.

"Sam, Sam come here!" her mother called.

Jessica saw her father come running from the hallway and felt her heart skip another beat when she saw the biggest smile in the world appear on his face. He quickly made his way over to her and her mother and hugged them both. He then noticed Optimus standing there, with a smile on his face, and he immediately asked, "Jessica honey, who's this?"

Jessica broke away from her parents embrace and looked to Optimus and said, "He's...well...my boyfriend."

Her father crossed his arms, "Don't tell me you ran off to meet this scum bag."

"Dad!" Jessica said and came to Optimus's defense, "The last thing in the world he is, is a scum bag! He's saved my life countless times."

"Saved your life? Just what happened to you?" asked her mother concerned.

"Well...a lot."

Her father looked Optimus up and down and then demanded, "Just who are you, punk?"

Optimus eyed him warily before answering, "Optimus Prime."

Jessica looked at him stunned, she had thought for sure he would've disguised his name. She had thought that he would've made up a story...but no. He was going to tell the truth. Jessica could see it in his eyes. He wasn't a liar, she could see that...and right now she desperately wanted to wrap her arms around him.

"Optimus Prime? What kind of a name is that?" he father continued to question.

"Dad, lighten up."

"Not until I get to the bottom of things, Jess," he responded and then looked back to Optimus, "What's your real name?"

"Sir, my name is Optimus Prime."

Jessica smiled softly hearing Optimus call her father sir. She looked to her love and took his hand back saying, "Perhaps it would be best if I explained."

Her mother nodded and Jessica started from the beginning, of how she ran away, how she was kidnapped by the decepticons and poisoned, how the autobots rescued her and built her a new body, how she was kidnapped by the decepticons again, how Optimus rescued her and they confessed there feelings to each other, how she tried to come home only to find Sideways impersonating her father, how she was kidnapped by him and what he had done to her, how she got away only to be caught by the decepticons, how Optimus died trying to rescue her, and how she got him back. And how she was finally here, to tell her parents what was going on, and just how sorry she was.

Her parents looked at each other before they looked back to Jessica and Optimus. Her mother was trying hard not to laugh as she asked, "Are you sure you didn't get hit on the head honey?"

Jessica growled, "No mom! I can prove it to you! I'm a transformer, so isn't Optimus."

"Okay then," said her dad, "Prove it."

Jessica looked to Optimus and asked, "Shall we?"

"It appears we don't have any other choice," Optimus replied.

And together then ushered the words "transform" and became their true selves. Both Jessica's parents took a step back, startled, and their jaws dropped. Jessica looked down at them and asked, "Believe me now?"

They slowly nodded and she transformed back into her human form. Optimus went back into his holoform. Her parents didn't know what to say, and finally her mother said, "What does this mean...now that you're not human anymore?"

"It means," Optimus responded, "That Jessica is going to have to come with us autobots back to Cybertron."

"Do you think you can just rip our daughter away from us?" her father asked angrily.

"Dad! It doesn't mean I'm never going to visit again! And I'd be better off with the autobots. It's too risky for me to stay here. The decepticons, especially Sideways are after me. Optimus is only looking out for my safety," Jessica explained.

"But Jess, you're our daughter!"

Jessica felt tears form in her eyes as she finally said, "I know! All of this is my fault, alright? I was wrong to runaway, I shouldn't have done it, but I didn't know what else to do! And I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone, I was just sick of not fitting in and feeling like a nobody! And when I came across Optimus, he turned my life upside down. He opened my eyes, he gave me a new life, and I can't thank him enough. He saved me from everything, the decepticons, death, and myself. And I know all of this is really hard for you to understand...but it's true. I love Optimus...so much..." The tears escaped her eyes and she hugged herself.

Optimus smiled and pulled Jessica tightly against him, not caring what her parents thought. He had no idea that she was going to confess that...and her words had went right to his spark and melted it. He had known she cared deeply about him, but he didn't know she cared that deeply. And he knew for sure now that he could never let her go. Not after what she had just said. She had fully won him over now...not that she hadn't before, but if there was ever a doubt, there surely wasn't a doubt left in his mind. Jessica was his...forever. And like he said he would, he pulled her into a kiss, claiming his bet.

"Oh Sam," her mother exclaimed, "Everything is okay, she's in love. Look at them."

Jessica looked at her mother and smiled softly. Her father appeared to pout and said, "Melissa, don't be absurd!"

"Honey, you knew our baby girl was going to find the man of her dreams someday."

"She's only seventeen!"

"The same age I was when I met you."

And Jessica watched as her father seemed to relax a bit. He turned back to his daughter and Optimus, and looked Optimus square in the eye as he said, "You may be the leader of the autobots and want to achieve peace across the universe...but that's my daughter you got...and if you _ever_ do anything to hurt her, I'll kill you."

Optimus simply nodded and said, "If I ever should, you have my permission to do so."

"I won't allow it," Jessica replied.

Optimus wiped her tears away and caused her mother to sigh saying, "Why don't you ever do that to me, Sam?"

"Well, you never cry."

Jessica chuckled and said, "I think we'll be going."

"Alright dear," her mother replied, "Don't forget to visit every now and then."

"I won't," Jessica said and gave both her mother and father hugs.

Her father held her tightly and said, "Don't be afraid to shoot him for me if ever decides to be a jerk."

"Dad," she simply replied as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Alright you two, get out of here and stay out of trouble," her dad said and her and Optimus nodded.

They went back over to the driveway where Optimus's vehicle form was, and they both got inside, Optimus behind the wheel. They drove off heading back to the autobot base. Optimus glanced over to Jessica who was looking down. He put an arm around her and pulled her to him saying, "What you said back there...to you parents...it made me love you so much more...it made me proud."

She grinned and rested her head under his chin as she replied, "I didn't know you were planning on telling the truth."

"I really didn't want to lie to your parents. I wanted their trust...and the truth was bound to come out to them sooner or later."

"I know," she sighed.

"What's wrong?" he asked concerned.

"Nothing. I'm just so in love."

He smiled and kissed the top of her head. She closed her eyes, not going unnoticed by Optimus. "Are you tired?" he asked.

"It's been a long day," she admitted yawning.

"Let's get you back to the base where you can sleep," he said.

"If you say so."

"I say so," he remarked engaging the warp sequence.

* * *

Optimus carried Jessica in his arms to his room this time, he knew now that spending a night without her would be the hardest thing in the universe to do. He knew that neither of them would be able to sleep without the other, and he wasn't going to have that. He carried Jessica into his room and laid her on his bed. The autobot leader laid down next to her on the bed and held her tightly in his arms. Optimus removed his facemask and set it on the nightstand next to his bed. Jessica smiled saying, "I see what you're planning."

Optimus returned the smile, "It was kind of obvious." And he proceeded to kiss her.

Jessica sighed relaxing into the kiss. She rested a hand on his cheek and the other on his neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist. They were already as close to each other as they could possibly be, but both wanted to be closer, so much closer. But Optimus knew that activities like that would have to wait. He didn't want to hurt Jessica, and he didn't want to make moves like that so soon in their relationship. He was just thrilled to have her here where she was now.

_Lay your head down_

_And sleep on my shoulder_

_Lay your head down_

_And start a new dream_

Jessica sighed as Optimus moved to kiss her neck and then whisper, "I love you, Jess."

She smiled and snuggled against him saying, "I love you, Optimus."

He smiled and rolled over onto his back, keeping an arm around his love. She rested her head on his shoulder and let her optics go offline. Optimus watched as she started to fall asleep and kissed her head saying once again, "I love you." He watched as she smiled, too tired to reply.

_And for tonight the moment is over_

_Drift in a lullaby_

_Here where the stars reside_

_And the angels are always seen_

Optimus listened as Jessica sighed, succumbing to sleep. Her lips had a small smile on them, and she looked so happy and at peace. He prayed she was dreaming about him, if she wasn't, he hoped to Primus it was a good dream. Anything but a nightmare. And he kept watching her. She was so beautiful when she slept, he didn't want to let his optics go offline. He simply could not get enough of her, no matter how much time he spent with her or how hard he loved her. Optimus had fallen so hard for her...he was drowning in love, and he wasn't ever going to resurface.

_Lay your head down_

_The stars they have whispered_

_Hear what they say _

_And know what it means_

The autobot leader finally rested his head gently against Jessica's and let his optics go offline. He was so tired, but he knew tomorrow was filled with wonderful things that he and Jessica would do together. He could kiss her again tomorrow. He could hug her again tomorrow. He could hold her again tomorrow. He could go to bed again with her tomorrow. He could wake up with her tomorrow. He couldn't wait for tomorrow.

_The moon is your guide_

_The stars they have kissed her_

_As she goes gently by_

_Light as a baby's sigh_

_Safe on a fairytale stream_

Optimus sighed and fell asleep himself. Both of them felt so complete around the other, they made each other whole. And both hoped to be together forever, that nothing would ever come between them and try to tear them apart. This was just how they wanted everything to be. Each other was all they had ever wanted.

_And start a new dream_

_

* * *

_

So ends this chapter. The song was A Final Dream by Nightwish. Hope you guys liked it, and please review, reviews are always nice. They complete me. ; )


	18. What Lies Beyond the Moon

About time I updated this one again...I had another snowday, so I was presented with the oppertunity. It makes me so happy! Especially since I talked with Mrs. OP on the phone today. We both had snowdays, fancy that.

* * *

_Chapter Eighteen:__ What Lies Beyond the Moon_

It had been a couple days since Optimus had taken Jessica to visit her parents, and during that time Jessica had learned that the autobots had been building a spaceship way before she had first met them, and that it was extremely close to completion. And once it was completed, they were heading back to Cybertron and after the decepticons since they had already launched a ship of there own…and were already sailing through space back to the transformers home world. And Jessica was more than thrilled to go see Cybertron for the first time. She knew she was more than likely to be spending the rest of her life there with Optimus, but she really just couldn't wait. There was no telling what it looked like, Optimus and some of the other autobots had described to her what it looked like, but she just couldn't picture it. She could imagine it for now, but she had a feeling what she saw in her mind wouldn't even compare to the real thing. Optimus had warned her to be prepared for a desolate landscape full of destruction because of the war, and Jessica really hoped that the autobots wouldn't have to come home to that, but if they did, she would gladly help rebuild.

That morning, Jessica lay in bed with Optimus, both of them still asleep. They loved sharing a bed together, they loved every moment they had together. Neither of them could see life without the other, and they were just so in love, words couldn't even describe it. The two of them spent every minute they possibly could together, but Optimus still had his duties, and Jessica was still being trained by Scavenger and greatly improving in all areas, especially firing a weapon. Scavenger was even teaching her how to use a sword, something she had always wanted to learn how to do, and it felt great to finally learn.

Optimus woke when he felt Jessica stir in her sleep. He smirked when she snuggled against him and checked the time on his internal clock. It was 5:30am human time, still an hour before he was usually up. He sighed and rested his head against Jessica's and was just about to let his optics go back offline when he heard her mumble in a small, tired, yet frightened voice, "No…let me go."

"Jess?" he murmured pulling away from her so that he could look at her. He saw she was still asleep and figured she was talking in her sleep…she had done that to him before.

She rolled over again so that her back was to him and he watched as she grasped at the bed and tried to clutch it. It wasn't working, and she groped her hands around trying to find anything to hold onto, or so it appeared. Her hands found the pillow, and she grasped it tightly. Optimus watched as she fidgeted, as if struggling with some unknown force, and then she started trembling. Beads of coolant formed on her brow and she mumbled again, this time with more fright than sleep, "Sideways…no…"

"Jessica, wake up," Optimus said in his normal, gentle tone. He didn't want her having any nightmare's, especially about Sideways.

She didn't move, and the leader of the autobots watched as she began crying in her sleep. He knew then it must have been bad, whatever she was dreaming about. He sat up and put a hand on her shoulder to gently shake her awake, but as soon as he touched her, she flung her arm around hard, and it caught him in the nose, and it hurt. He fell back momentarily as he clutched his nose, it bled slightly, but it didn't bleed very long. But by the time he had gotten it to stop bleeding, Jessica was tossing and turning frantically. And she was no longer mumbling now, but beginning to shout.

Optimus moved to wake her up again, this time a lot more careful. He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently. She didn't wake up; instead she began fighting him in her sleep. Optimus moved so he was lying over her as she continued struggling against him, shouting, "No Sideways, get off me, please get off me!"

"Jessica!" Optimus shouted himself, "Wake up, you're dreaming, just wake up!"

But still she didn't, and she blindly tried to push him off her, and Optimus finally pinned her flailing arms and shook her again, harder this time saying, "Jessica, wake up!"

Her optics fluttered online, tears staining her face, the beads of coolant streaking down from her brow. She was gasping, and when she saw it was Optimus over her and not Sideways she was so relieved, her face crumpled and she began to cry. The autobot leader released her and laid back down beside her and pulled her tightly into his arms and murmured gently, "You're okay, you're okay."

"Optimus," she sobbed, "He's going to get me again, he is."

"Sideways won't come near you, I won't let him."

"He will though! He always finds a way."

"Jessica, I'm not going to let him. Do you understand? I won't let you leave my sight, not at all."

"He'll bring Unicron after me…he will."

"Unicron? Jessica, what are you talking about?"

Jessica looked at him startled and then asked softly, "You've…never heard of Unicron?"

"No, you know who he is?"

"I don't know…he was in my dream…he was who Sideways worked for. Are you sure you haven't heard of him before?"

"Jessica, if he was in your dream, then he isn't real. You don't need to worry, all that was just a dream. Calm down okay? I'm here now. I'm never going to let anything happen to you again. Alright?"

Jessica nodded and Optimus wiped away her tears and then kissed her. She sighed leaning into the kiss, but a terrible feeling surfaced in her gut. As much as she wanted to believe what Optimus had just told her, she couldn't. She felt for sure something was going to happen that was out of her, and everyone's control. And there was no telling what. Optimus held her tighter, knowing she was still scared. He was hoping she'd calm down once she realized she had just had a bad dream and had no reason to be afraid. Still, he was uncertain himself. What if it had been a sign, rather more than just a bad a dream? Optimus let his optics go offline…he would just have to be more careful then, he couldn't lose her, not again.

He sighed, and checked the time on his internal clock again only to see it was just about time to get up. He looked to Jess, who looked calmer than what she had been when she had first woke up. Nudging her gently, he said, "It's time to get up."

"Joy."

Optimus smiled gently before saying, "Come on, the ship's going to be finished today. We're planning on leaving for Cybertron later this afternoon. Let's go see how the boys are doing."

Jessica nodded and she and Optimus got up from the bed. The autobot leader reached to the nightstand to get his facemask, but as he did so he remembered that he hadn't gotten his morning kiss from Jessica yet. Smirking he looked over to her. She stood, her head cocked at him, with her arms crossed and optics narrowed. There was a flirtatious yet devilish look on her face as she asked in a sweetly seductive voice, "Just what are you thinking now?"

He guessed she had gotten over her dream for now, and he faced her saying, "I never got my morning kiss."

"Well, come and get it."

He smirked and walked over to her, where he captured her in his arms and dipped her, causing Jessica to smirk and he smiled back down at her before he kissed her. He let the kiss drag on for a few minutes; both of them loved kissing the other. No matter what they did, they could never get enough of each other. They loved each other just so much; they didn't know where they would be today if they hadn't ever met…if they hadn't ever fallen in love. Optimus knew his world would still be dark…he had been so depressed before he had met Jessica, but the instant he laid his optics on her, he had had a feeling deep inside that everything would turn out better, that everything would be okay…and what had happened? He fell madly, he fell deeply, he was drowning completely in an ocean of love, and he couldn't resurface, he didn't want to. He sighed, deepening the kiss. There weren't enough moments like this between him and Jessica the last couple days since he had been busy with the ship and she with her training. Once the war was over though, everything was going to change. He would show her how much he loved her, and he wasn't sure how he would, but he would.

Jessica grinned against Optimus's lips as the kiss deepened, and she willingly opened her mouth and allowed her love entry. He sighed passionately and slid his tongue into her mouth and caressed her tongue with his. It wasn't long before there tongues were dueling in a heated battle and Optimus pulled away briefly as he pinned Jessica back down on the bed and began the kiss again. Both of them were running late now, but neither of them cared. Optimus slowly kissed down to Jessica's neck, tickling some of her touch sensors with his tongue and causing her to shiver in pleasure. She wrapped her arms around him and felt as he kissed at the nape of her neck. Letting her optics go offline, she grinned in love and pleasure as she felt his hands roaming her body.

Optimus made his way back up to her mouth and growled slightly as Jessica ran his hands along his grill…he was extra sensitive there since his matrix was right beneath. But it felt good…little slices of ecstasy would travel through his circuits and through his body. He shuddered, and it didn't go unnoticed by Jessica, who smiled again.

A few minutes later, they broke the kiss and laid beside each other allowing the air to cool their overheating systems. "That was some morning kiss," Jessica breathed.

"You needed it," Optimus replied, feeling like he was glowing because he was so in love, "I love you, Jess."

"I love you, Optimus."

Optimus smiled and let his optics go offline. He loved it when she said that. Pulling her against him he said, "Well…we're running late. We need to get up."

"Yeah, before everyone wonders where we are."

"Or they start getting ideas."

Jessica chuckled, "Yeah, that too. Let's go see how the Axalon is doing."

"As you command."

And for the second time, Jessica and Optimus got up from the bed and headed out of the room to the hangar where the spaceship, or as they named it, the Axalon, was being built. When they got there, they were greeted by the troops, who didn't say or ask as to where the autobot couple had been. Optimus really owed it to his troops for not asking questions and supporting his relationship with Jessica. They were the greatest friends he could ever have, and it was an honor to serve with them. Looking to Red Alert, Optimus then asked, "How is the ship coming, Red Alert?"

"Only a couple more inspections need to be made, just to make sure everything is in order. Then it'll be done."

"Awesome," Jessica exclaimed walking over to the ship, "Wow, you guys did a great job on this."

Hotshot grinned saying, "Just goes to show what a little hard work can do."

Scavenger smirked, "You ought to talk."

Hotshot shot him a look, "Just what was that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing."

Jessica shook her head at the two and then looked to Optimus and asked, "So when's liftoff?"

"Well, as soon as the inspections are done and everything is loaded on."

The humans, who were in the room, looked over to Optimus. Rad then asked, "Can we come too?"

"Well…" the autobot leader trailed off.

"Please Optimus, we've been with you guys since the beginning, why not let us come?" Carlos piped up.

"It's going to be very dangerous," Optimus explained, "I really don't want to risk any of you getting hurt."

Jessica listened as Optimus tried to convince the kids not to come. He cared about everyone and everything too much. It was as if anybody that died, good or evil, it was a tragedy to him. But she knew if he hadn't cared so much the war probably wouldn't be what it was today. And if he didn't care so much, he probably would have brushed her off…and she was so thankful that he had not done that to her. Instead he kept her close and he loved her with every ounce of himself that he could…his mind, his spark, his soul, his body, everything. And she did the same, and she loved it. Optimus was her one and only and running away had been so worth since she got him.

"Please can we come?" Carlos and Rad begged together, Alexis had been staying out of the argument, but Jessica could see it in her eyes that she wanted more than anything to come too.

"I suppose I'm not going to convince you to stay here on earth where you'd be safe," Optimus explained, "I suppose you can come…but I don't know how long we'll be gone. So go tell your parents you'll be going away for awhile. And hurry, we need to get after those decepticons as soon as possible."

The kids nodded, thanking Optimus, and then they left to go pack their things and tell there parents that they were going away. Jessica looked to Optimus and smiled saying, "You pushover."

Optimus grinned behind his facemask at her and said, "Only you would know."

"Keep it decent you two," Smokescreen remarked suddenly.

Jessica looked to him and winked saying, "As you wish."

Optimus crossed his arms pretending to be jealous. Jessica grinned at him before walking up to him, kissing his facemask and saying, "I love you."

Optimus felt the biggest smile form on his lips ever. Jessica was so cute sometimes. He noticed a few of his men looking at him with grins on their faces…expectant looks on their faces…like they were waiting to see what he would do. Knowing he still had a bet to pay to Jessica, he decided to own up to it now and pulled her into his arms, removed his facemask, and kissed her full on the lips.

"Get a room!" Hotshot declared as he watched the kiss with a smirk on his face. It was quite apparent that he had been waiting to say that.

"You know bro, as soon as Optimus is done sucking face with Jessica, he's going to pound you," Sideswipe explained.

"Well, he's going to pound you too now for saying sucking face," Hotshot retorted.

"Not if he didn't hear me he won't."

They looked over at Optimus, only to catch his gaze…and they watched as he narrowed his optics at them. Both Hotshot and Sideswipe got the anime teardrop as Hotshot rubbed the back of his head saying, "Heh…we're screwed."

A few more moments went by and then Optimus and Jessica broke away from each other. Optimus looked immediately to Hotshot and Sideswipe saying, "You two are going to get it."

"Run," Hotshot said simply."

"I'm right behind you bro," Sideswipe replied, and they quickly made a retreat inside the Axalon.

Jessica tapped on Optimus's shoulder and then asked in a low voice, "You aren't really going to do anything to them are you?"

"No," he replied in a whisper, "Just thought I'd scare them." And he reattached his facemask to his face.

Jessica smiled shaking her head and Optimus took her hand in his and asked, "How would you like a tour of the Axalon?"

"I'd love one."

"Or would you just love the tour guide?"

She chuckled and said, "That too."

He smiled behind his facemask and together they walked into the Axalon.

* * *

By the time the tour had finished, the kids were back and ready to go, and the Axalon had been finished. Also, everything that needed to be loaded onto the ship was loaded, and they were all set to go. Optimus, Jessica, and the rest of the autobots, humans, and some of the minicons were in the command center of the ship waiting for Optimus's orders to liftoff. After a brief speech about catching the decepticons and ending the war, he finally said, "Autobots, engage liftoff sequence." 

Jessica felt excitement course through her as she heard the ship's engines roar to life. She was even more excited when she felt the ship sail out through a warp gate, and out of the base where it achieved flight…they were heading to Cybertron…they were going home. Optimus wrapped an arm around her and said in a whisper, "Just wait until you see what lies beyond the moon."

Jessica could hardly wait.

* * *

The autobots traveled the rest of the day, flying as fast as they could in an effort to catch up to the decepticons. Jessica had left the command center with the humans to go look out the window and get a better look of outer space. Optimus and the rest of the autobots stayed in the command center to monitor everything and make sure everything went okay. 

All of them were blown away by the stars and the enormity of space. It went on forever and ever, and it was just all so beautiful. It was hard to comprehend what it truly was until you had actually been out there and seen it. And the humans were so thankful for this chance…Jessica too, and thankful for so much more than accompanying the autobots to Cybertron…because unlike the humans, she wasn't going back to earth when the war was over. She was going to stay on Cybertron with the autobots…and hopefully with Optimus.

"Oh, wouldn't it be so awesome if we could go out on the roof of the ship?" Carlos asked suddenly.

"Hey, maybe Jessica could take us," Rad said, looking up at her and obviously agreeing with Carlos.

"Not without Optimus's permission I'm not," she explained knowing what happened when she did things without Optimus's knowledge.

"Can you call him up and ask him then? Please?" Carlos pleaded.

"You know…you whine a lot," Jessica replied.

"Please?" he continued, "I won't stop until you do."

"Fine, but he'll probably say no."

"You never know," Rad chimed in.

Jessica shook her head and tuned her comlink to Optimus's frequency. Once she had it, she called him saying, "Jessica to the one she loves most."

"The one she loves most here," Optimus replied, only able to hide his smile because of his facemask.

"The kids want to know if I can take them out on the roof."

There was a pause before Optimus said, "That isn't such a good idea right now…especially since we've just sighted the decepticons."

"Aw come on!" Carlos exclaimed, "Just for five minutes?"

Jessica sighed and then asked, "Just for five minutes?"

"No," he replied.

"Three, tell him three," Carlos stated.

So Jessica asked, "Three minutes?"

"I see they're being very persistent today…I'll give them two, but be extremely careful and report back to me once you get back inside."

"As you command, love," Jessica said.

Optimus's smile broadened and he said, "I'll talk to you later, love."

She said her own goodbye to him and ended the transmission. She then looked to the kids and said, "Alright, as you know you've only got two minutes out on that roof with me, and then we have to come in. Let's go, pronto."

The kids nodded and quickly they went up to the elevator and went to the top deck where they found the door that led outside onto the roof. Rad, Alexis, and Carlos put on their spacesuits and when they were ready, Jessica opened the door for them and the four of them went out onto the roof to get a better view of space. Taking a glance ahead, Jessica spotted the decepticon ship, closer than what she had thought it was and became edgy. Maybe it hadn't been safe to come out here at all.

* * *

An alarm blared inside the decepticon ship as the decepticons realized they had the autobots right on their tails. Megatron ordered Thrust to zoom in on the ship to look for any weak spots to shoot…and that's when they noticed Jessica with the humans on the roof of the ship. Megatron ordered them ignored and told them to aim the ship's guns at the engine of the autobot ship. Nobody noticed as Sideways slipped out of the room.

* * *

An overwhelming feeling of anxious dread overcame Jessica and prompted her to look back to the decepticon ship. Zooming her optics in on the ship, she noticed that the guns were being aimed towards them. She swallowed hard and said, "We have to get out of here now, the decepticons are preparing to shoot." 

Alexis said, "Alright, we're coming." And she grabbed Rad and Carlos by an ear and started dragging them inside, Jessica chuckling as she did so.

Her chuckling ceased though when Sideways suddenly materialized right in front of her. She was too shocked to gasp, and he chuckled evilly as he stated, "Going somewhere Jessie?"

"No…Sideways! Get out of here!" she shouted, not knowing quite what to say.

"Not without you…you see, my master has expressed interest in you now as well."

"Y-You're…master?"

"Come and meet him, he's expecting you," Sideways explained, grabbing her forcefully by the wrist.

Before Jessica had the chance to react, she heard the warp sequence activate. Horrified, she looked to the kids and said, "Tell Optimus!" And she and Sideways disappeared right as the words escaped her mouth.

Looking back, Carlos exclaimed in a worried voice, "Oh man, Optimus is going to eat us for breakfast when he finds out what happened."

The three of them quickly disappeared inside the Axalon to break the news to Optimus.

* * *

Jessica looked around at the place Sideways had taken her…and she didn't like it…and didn't know what to make of it. She felt like she was inside some sort of being…and everything looked organic. Terrified she looked to Sideways and stuttered out the question, "W-Where a-am I?" 

"Within my master."

"And…just who is he?"

"The only transformer the size of a planet, that transforms into a planet," Sideways explained.

Jessica swallowed hard hearing his size and then asked, "W-What's his…n-name?"

"Unicron."

Jessica fainted.

* * *

The end...for now. Well...looks like you're gonna have to wait until the next chapter to find out what happens. And there's only two chapters to go now...possibly three. I haven't decided yet...but anywho. Thanks to everyone that has been reviewing, I love you all, and please keep on reviewing! Or, and don't forget to check out my poll(s) too. Mucho gracias. 


	19. Finding Out Who He Really Is

Yeah, I was gonna update this on Mrs. OP's b-day...but it didn't work out. So, I bring it to you now. One more chapter after this one. Don't you just LOVE it when a story you like comes to an END? Okay, don't hurt me please.

* * *

_Chapter Nineteen: Finding Out Who He Really Is_

Optimus checked the time on his internal clock and realized that a lot more than two minutes had gone by. He had been so busy trying to get the ship out of the line of fire by the decepticons and setting up the defense shields that he had lost track of time, but now that he knew he was starting to get worried. A number of scenarios were running through his CPU as to what could have happened to cause delay…and as positive as he tried to keep his thoughts, they were slowly getting worse and worse. And his worry didn't cease, it grew when he saw the kids suddenly burst into the room _without_ Jessica. But the looks on their faces of confusion, fear, and shocking disbelief told another story that fed his worry like a starving child.

"Optimus!" Rad shouted causing the autobot leader to swallow hard, "Sideways…" he ran out of breath.

Optimus's optics dimmed…he didn't have to hear anymore. He was just once again faced with the question of what to do. Right now he wanted to burst out of the command center of the ship and run down the hallways screaming until he got to the warping dock and then transport himself to the decepticon ship where he would let all hell loose until he got his Jessica back. He felt like he was in a tunnel with all the air and sound sucked out as he faintly heard Rad add onto his sentence, "Sideways got Jessica."

The autobot troops watched in awe and fear as Optimus clenched his fists into tight balls and stormed over to the monitor. He turned it on and set up a transmission to the decepticon ship.

* * *

Cyclonus was a bit shocked when he suddenly intercepted a transmission coming from Optimus Prime to Megatron. He turned to his leader and said, "Sir…Optimus wants to talk to you." 

"What?" Megatron asked, "Put him through."

Optimus felt a bit relieved when he saw Megatron appear on the screen…but his anger quickly replaced almost all his emotions as he growled, "Where's that damned minion of yours?!"

Megatron could tell very easily that Optimus was two words: pissed off. Smugly he answered, "Which one?"

"Sideways."

Without looking around Megatron shrugged and said, "I don't know…or care."

Optimus slammed his fist on the control panel, "I don't have time for your bullshit, Megatron! Where in the pit is he?!"

Scavenger felt his optics shrink since he had never heard Optimus swear before and calmly said to the kids, "You guys need to leave the room for a few minutes."

The kids dumbly nodded before they hastily ran out of the room…however the autobots stayed put, too bedazzled by the scene unfolding in front of them.

Megatron even appeared shocked himself, and this time he actually took a step away from the monitor to look around and then gave his troops the order to find Sideways and bring him to the throne room at once. He then turned back to the monitor and said, "I don't understand why—

"Where's Jessica?"

"Oh." Megatron replied as Optimus satisfied his curiosity and then quickly added, "I don't know."

Optimus sighed bitterly and had to hold his tongue to keep from asking if Megatron really had such poor control over his thugs, but he didn't want Megatron angered into cutting the transmission. It was a few minutes before Megatron's troops returned and gave the news that they couldn't find Sideways. When Optimus heard, he glared at Megatron and ordered, "Prepare your ship to dock with ours."

"What?! Do you really think I'm going to let you come on board our ship?!" hollered Megatron.

"You don't have a choice!"

"Yes…I do," Megatron snarled and ended the transmission.

Optimus punched the screen of the monitor, shattering it. He then let a sigh escape him as he turned to his troops and said, "I'll be back."

Hotshot looked to him worried, "W-Where are you going?"

"I said I'll be back," Optimus simply answered and left the room.

"Oh, this is so not good," Sideswipe exclaimed.

* * *

Optimus immediately went to the warp room. He was not going to sit around this time…not with Sideways missing…and Jessica with him. There was no telling what he was up to, and Optimus knew it would kill him if Sideways did anything to hurt his love. Thus, he activated the warp sequence to the decepticon ship and within seconds vanished from the Axalon. 

The autobot leader knew this was a really stupid thing to do when he materialized inside the decepticon ship warp room. He knew it was suicidal, but if it meant saving his love, then so be it. He had to convince Megatron to help him locate Sideways…an alliance of some sort until both he and Jessica were found. And doing this sure wasn't going to be easy…he didn't even know the location of the throne room of the ship. But that wasn't going to stop him. Optimus left the warp room and hoped he was heading in the direction of the throne room where Megatron was. If luck was on his side, perhaps he would come across Sideways along the way.

* * *

When Jessica woke up, she found herself standing in the room, held immobile by tendrils that covered all areas of her body except for her shoulders and head. _"What the hell?"_she thought. She then looked up to see Sideways looking at her from beside a blue-ish green blob that was in the center of the room. Her sensors were picking everything up as organic…her and Sideways were among the only metal things in the room. She knew that they were in Unicron…but what was that blob suspended in the center of the room? 

"What is that?" she asked gesturing to the blob.

"M—Unicron's spark," he simply replied.

Jessica knew the moment the tendril released her she would be aiming her cannons right at his spark to destroy him before the monster destroyed them. But she had a feeling she wasn't going to get out of there anytime soon. "Don't you have to get back to the decepticons?" she inquired.

"No, my work is done with them…nearly. Thrust just has to bring me the Star Saber, Sky Boom Shield, and Requiem Blaster."

"You…you're against Megatron aren't you?"

He smirked behind his mask, "I have been ever since the beginning."

"Then…why did you join his side after you had been an autobot?"

"I'll tell you later."

He was hiding something. Jessica could see it plain and simple, but she didn't know what. But her thoughts as to what he was hiding were interrupted when he started walking over to her. _"Oh no,"_ she thought, _"Walk by me, please walk by me."_

But he didn't. Instead he walked directly up to her and gently rested his hand on her cheek. "It won't be long now until the universe is ours…Optimus will simply have to die again."

She clenched her teeth together and turned her face away from him so she could get his hand off her. It worked for a moment, until he snapped her head back so she was looking at him.

"Don't make me wire the tendrils so that they shock you every time you disobey me."

She glared at him and said, "I'd rather feel that than you."

And a horrible tingle started in her feet and then quickly spread through the rest of her body. It was burning and sharp, and stung; it felt absolutely awful. She winced and let one optic go offline as she looked to Sideways and exclaimed in a harsh whisper, "I hate you."

He removed his facemask and smiled as he kissed her.

* * *

Megatron tried to suppress the shock that was beginning to course through him as he watched Optimus suddenly appear through the shadows in the doorway…fire burning in his optics. Megatron stood as his troops gathered with their guns drawn. "How did you get here, Optimus?" the decepticon leader asked. 

"It doesn't matter."

"Why the hell are you here then…alone?"

"You and I are going to locate Sideways."

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Not yet. You don't understand the severity of the situation, Megatron."

He smirked, "I really don't care where Jessica or Sideways are."

"I know that…but Jessica has brought up a new threat to the existence of all transformers, autobot and decepticon…and a possible end to Cybertron."

"What are you talking about?"

"Unicron."

"I've never heard of—

"Well now you have. He has far greater power than you Megatron, nobody knows much about him, but somehow Sideways, and possibly others of your men have connections to him."

Megatron glanced at his men, only to catch Thrust noticeably stiffen. He then turned to his troops and crossed his arms saying, "What's the matter, Thrust?"

"N-Nothing sir."

"Somehow I doubt that. You wouldn't happen to know where Sideways is do you?"

Thrust shook his head, "No, I haven't seen him."

"I feel you are lying."

"Sir, you must understand!"

Megatron wasn't sure how to question him further and turned back to Optimus saying, "You need to leave."

"Not until Sideways is found!"

"Then I will use force! Thrust, get me the Star Saber," Megatron ordered.

"Erm…sir, isn't your minicon enough?"

"What?" Megatron glowered in disbelief as he turned back to Thrust, "What is that you're hiding?!"

And to the shock of everyone, Thrust stood up straight, confidently, and wasn't the coward he normally was. He chuckled as he said, "It doesn't matter."

"So, you are hiding something from me."

"I will be leaving now, and I'm not coming back. I have a promise to keep."

"What sort of promise?"

Thrust didn't answer and merely took the Requiem Blaster in hand and aimed it at the autobot and decepticon leaders. "My allegiance is to Unicron!" And he quickly grabbed the Star Saber and Sky Boom Shield and disappeared through a warp gate with all three weapons.

Optimus glanced to Megatron who was balling his fists. The decepticon leader let his optics go offline in anger and exclaimed in a low growl, "So, it's Unicron we're after now?"

The autobot leader replied, "Yes. Shall we call a truce now, Megatron? For the sake of Cybertron…and our race?"

"Only for now…until Unicron is defeated. Do not think that this is a permanent end to the war, Prime. This universe will still be mine."

"We'll see…now I suggest we get moving to Cybertron since we're not that far away now, and Sideways, Jessica, and Thrust are most likely there. I'll meet up with you there."

Megatron smirked, "As you _command_, Prime." And he ordered his troop's full speed to Cybertron and then turned to Optimus and asked, "Did Sideways take Jessica…or did she join up with Unicron too?"

"She was kidnapped."

"Again?"

Optimus glumly nodded and then left the room to head back to the warp room, and back to his men.

* * *

The autobots watched from the windows of the Axalon as the decepticon ship moved out of position at warp speed to Cybertron. Hotshot slammed his fist into a wall as he exclaimed, "They must have taken Optimus prisoner…or killed him." 

"What do we do now?" Sideswipe asked.

"We move out," came Optimus's voice from the doorway.

His troops looked to him surprised, and Jetfire asked, "Sir, what happened?"

"We have an alliance with the decepticons until Unicron, Sideways, Thrust, and Jessica are found. Now, let's get to Cybertron!"

Blurr and Hotshot got behind the controls and launched the ship towards Cybertron. As they were traveled forward, Red Alert wondered, "Whose Unicron?"

Optimus told them all the information he knew…that he was the ultimate evil, and he had set his sights on the destruction of Cybertron and possibly the transformer race. When asked where he had heard of Unicron and his threat, he explained that Jessica had told him…and when asked where Jessica had heard it from, he said she had a dream about it. Some of the autobots were ready to say Optimus had completely lost his mind and that he had just caused a big mess until he said, "And Thrust confirmed it when he betrayed Megatron and said his allegiance was to Unicron."

"But, why did you trust Jessica's dream like that in the first place?" questioned Smokescreen.

"A few days ago, I took her to visit her parents, and I met them too. While she was talking to them, I did a scan on her father's brainwaves and realized that he had psychic abilities and ESP…I ran the same scan on Jessica and she had the same results as well." He explained.

No one said anything, and Optimus sat down in his chair in the back central part of the room. He missed his Jessica, and he was so worried about her. But things were working in her search so far…the decepticons were cooperating, all they had to do was find Sideways and Thrust…and then maybe Jessica, alive. Optimus shook his head. _"Don't think like that,"_ he told himself mentally, _"She's going to be okay…oh please Primus…make sure she's okay."

* * *

_

Jessica felt her spark skip a beat when she heard someone warp in and Sideways broke the kiss and snapped his facemask back on. He smirked when he saw who had arrived.

"Ah, Thrust…how good it is to see you lived up to your deal."

"Only for my master, Unicron," and he bowed to Sideways which confused Jessica.

Sideways chuckled and took the weapons away from him. Tendrils surrounded each weapon and held each one tightly next to Unicron's spark. Thrust stood and looked to Jessica before asking, "Why is she here?"

"She is to merge with Unicron."

"What?!" Jessica asked shocked.

Thrust seemed equally surprised before he protested, "But she's just a worthless, weak, experiment."

Jessica shot Thrust a glare and shouted at him, "Just wait until I get out of these tendrils Squid-head!"

He made a sound as if he smirked and walked over to Jessica. Cupping her cheek he said, "I have a guess as to why Sideways wants you…and I hope he's willing to share."

Jessica snapped her head away from his hand Sideways chuckled saying, "Maybe, Thrust…it depends on if I'm in a sharing mood."

She grit her teeth hating the way Sideways and Thrust were talking about her, and their plans for her. They were the one's that had caused her life to be where it was now…and here they were again. Primus only knew how they would alter her life this time…if they would alter her life. Oh how she wanted to struggle, but she knew it would be worthless and a waste of energy. She hated being so helpless. She hated how she was constantly thrown into the role of the damsel in distress. In all her life, she had hated being the one that needed to be rescued. She had always wanted to be the one fighting and saving…not waiting and helpless. And she knew Optimus was most likely worried sick about her, but she didn't want him to worry. She wanted to emerge as the one who kicked butt for him…this constant kidnapee role she was playing was sickeningly old…and it had never been enjoyable. _"Just wait until I get free from these disgusting tendrils…just you wait Sideways,"_ she snarled in her thoughts.

Thrust turned away from her seeing she was peeved and looked to Sideways asking, "When shall we make an appearance?"

"We'll strike an hour after the autobots and decepticons arrive on Cybertron. We'll give them a small amount of time to organize themselves and try to get recruits and then annihilate them," Sideways explained.

Jessica cast her gaze to the floor. She had that sinking feeling…that everything wasn't going to work out okay this time…and she wasn't sure why she had that feeling. She then said in a strained voice, "Let me see Optimus one more time."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" the purple decepticon asked.

"I'll come back, I'll come back alone, and I will merge with Unicron without hesitation. Just let me see him one more time."

"I can't trust you."

"When will you then if you don't let me do this now?"

"Thrust, silence her." Sideways ordered.

Jessica was caught unaware as Thrust punched her in the side of the head and she fell limp…and into darkness.

* * *

_A cold wind whistled across the barren metal landscape of Cybertron, catching up dust and dirt and tossing it around before setting it back down to continue on its voyage across the planet. No one was around as she glanced about, until she caught a figure walking towards her from her left. She turned and felt her heart jump inside her chest._

_"Optimus…" she breathed as he neared her._

_He didn't say anything, but stopped a few feet from her. She gave him a confused look and went to take a step towards him, but he held his hand up motioning for her to stop her advance. And numbly she stood there and gazed at her love. She watched as his hand fell slowly back down to his side, and suddenly, like he had been attacked by and invisible monstrosity, terrible cuts and dents and holes appeared in his armor. He's radiant blue, red, yellow, and white colors faded to a silvery-gray, like death had consumed him, but he was still alive. That was until his form suddenly burst into billions upon billions of dust particles and lodged themselves between some of Jessica's armor plates and wires while the rest became prisoner to the wind._

_She gasped too stunned to cry and heard a menacing laugh behind her. She whipped around only to see a planet sized yellow transformer floating in the sky above Cybertron._

_"Unicron…" she gasped._

_He snickered, "Correct my dear. Come, it is your time to merge with me and help in the destruction of the universe…and then…everything will be ours."

* * *

_

"NO!" Jessica screamed as she woke up and felt beads of coolant dripping down her face and the back of her neck that she couldn't wipe away. When she realized she was alone…in the spark chamber of Unicron, she began to cry, thankful that neither Thrust nor Sideways could see her. The dream had been so real to her. And she knew it would kill her if Optimus died again trying to save her like he did the last time. This time she knew she would grab the gun and fire it at point blank range into her chest…she wouldn't be able to bear watching him die a second time.

She was still crying when she heard someone walk into the room. She looked to the floor when she saw it was Sideways. He looked to her and saw she was crying, and then walked over to her. Taking her face in his hands he whispered in a gruff voice, "What's wrong?"

"Just let me go," she breathed. She didn't have the heart or energy to combat him now.

"Never," he replied sternly and took a hand back to remove his facemask, "It won't be long now…until you are a part of me and won't remember anything about your affair with Optimus."

Jessica looked up at him, but she didn't try to break free from his unwanted embrace…she didn't feel like getting shocked again from the tendrils. Instead she said with no emotion whatsoever, "Sideways…you shouldn't kiss me if you don't really love me…if you're just after my body…you shouldn't."

"Too late."

"You don't need me. I'm just a waste of your time."

"Not for very much longer."

Jessica shook her head not knowing what else to say to him and was about to look back down when Sideways took her by the chin and lifted her face to his.

* * *

The decepticon and autobot armies had been on the planet for about fifty minutes now, and they were trying to spread the word across Cybertron of their alliance…with the exception of Optimus and Megatron though who had decided to scan the planet for any traces of Jessica's, Sideways's, or Thrust's energy signatures. There were no traces. Megatron raised an optic ridge at the results and looked to Optimus, "So what now Prime? They aren't on the planet."

* * *

Sideways pulled away from Jessica and reattached his facemask as he walked over to Unicron's spark. "Time to let the fun and games begin," he declared. 

Jessica glanced up as the whole place began to shake. She looked to Sideways and asked, "What's going on?"

"I'm showing myself to the Cybertronians…"

"You mean Unicron right?"

He turned to her and said simply, "I am Unicron."

* * *

Both leaders looked up to the sky when they began to hear something crumble in the sky above them. They watched awed and amazed as two horn-like structures protruded from each side of the moon. Optimus, still looking at Cybertron's moon said, "Well, I think that answers your questions. They're up there." 

"What are we waiting for then? Let's go," Megatron replied.

Optimus nodded, and after they notified their troops, the autobot and decepticon leader disappeared through a warp gate…headed on their way to Unicron.

* * *

One more chapter...almost took me a year to write this story...but I will update it before April so it won't be a full year. Anywho...reviews please? I love you all, your reviews mean so much to me! 


	20. The Strongest of Love

Well people, here it is, the final chapter. I hope it provides a "finished feeling" to the story...and thankies to all my fans who have reviewed this story from the beginning. You kept me going! Now, I leave you (for now) to enjoy the final chapter.

* * *

_Chapter Twenty:__ The Strongest of Love_

Jessica couldn't believe it. After all this time, Sideways had really been Unicron all along. Though so little was known about Unicron, and Jessica wasn't really sure if she wanted to know who he really was other than the greatest evil. Instead she struggled inside the tendrils, to no avail though and remembered any attempts to free herself were futile. Silently she gave up…and then asked, "Why were you with the autobots before the decepticons?"

"I needed the Star-Saber and that incompetent idiot Hotshot had it."

"Megatron only ended up with it though."

"Which was fine."

"Why?"

He turned to her with an extremely annoyed look on his face and explained, "I feed off evil. Evil is the only reason for my existence. Megatron wielding the Star-Saber and creating an infinite amount of evil was fine."

"So that's why you stayed with the decepticons. There was plenty of evil there for you to feed off of."

"You're a smart girl."

"What about Thrust though?"

"It won't be long now until he is…disposed of. I have absolutely no more use for him now," he said before looking her over, "But…as for you…"

The tendrils began loosening around her, but not on her arms and ankles. Her arms were held securely behind her back, and a couple tendrils held her ankles tightly. Without warning, Jessica suddenly felt herself lifted and she was brought forward and set back down directly in front of Sideways. He grinned evilly behind his facemask while saying, "It's time for you to merge with me."

"Never," she growled.

He crossed his arms and said, "You will be forced to agree then."

Jessica screamed as the tendrils that still held her fast didn't sting her this time, but electrocuted her.

* * *

Optimus and Megatron materialized inside of Unicron and were disgusted, yet awed by what they saw. Nearly everything was organic and yet they were inside a transformer…at least they believed Unicron was a transformer. And in front of them was a large tunnel, large enough to walk through, but that tunnel split into two other tunnels, and there was no telling which one would lead them to Jessica. Glancing at the autobot leader Megatron asked, "So…does your intuition lead us in any sort of direction, other than forward?"

Optimus examined the route in front of them and wasn't sure what to say, until both leaders heard a faint scream emit from one of the tunnels. "We go that way," Optimus exclaimed as he hurried forward towards the tunnel where the scream came from.

Megatron grunted before he ran to catch up with the autobot leader.

* * *

Sideways chuckled sinisterly as he had the tendrils cease inflicting pain on Jessica. She narrowed her optics and glared at him before she said, "Alright…I'll merge with you, just get these tendrils off me."

The decepticon looked her over, not noticing as she eyed the Requiem Blaster just a few feet to her right. Slowly Jessica felt the tendrils loosen their grip on her wrists and ankles. Little did Sideways know she had no intention of merging with him…but she had every intention of killing him, and she would not leave until he was dead at her feet. She only had to wait until the tendrils were loose enough so that she could make her move. _"Just a little more,"_ she thought, _"Come on now…a little more…that's it!"_ Jessica twisted free from the grasp of the tendrils and bolted for the Requiem Blaster when something suddenly caught her by the waist and halted her advance.

"I figured you would try something like that," Sideways growled in her audio receptor.

Jessica twisted herself around in his arms so that she was facing him. His grip was deadly tight, and she knew she wasn't going to be able to get out of his arms by struggling…he was Unicron after all. "Sorry," she breathed, "I'll…I'll merge with you now."

Sideways looked at her suspiciously before asking, "You changed your mind that quickly?"

"I can't doubt the authority, the power of Unicron," she lied, "I don't…I don't want to die."

He smirked behind his mask saying, "I knew you'd see the light one of these days." And he loosened his grip on her.

Jessica was out of his arms the second she felt his grip loosen and closed the distance between her and the Requiem Blaster. She shot at the tendrils that held it, and they withdrew from the gun. As the blaster fell, Jessica grabbed it in her hands and pointed it at Sideways before chuckling, "Wow…I guess I could be an actress."

He snarled, "Put the gun down!"

"Why should I? You killed Optimus with this gun…it seems it'd only be fair if I killed you with this gun as well," she explained.

Sideways took a step back just as Optimus and Megatron burst into the room. Assessing the situation, the decepticon leader crossed his arms and remarked, "Just what were you so worried about? She was fine on her own!"

Sideways glanced at the autobot and decepticon leaders, not thrilled by their presence. He then looked back to Jessica who hadn't taken her optics off him. Glancing to his left he noticed the spark was only a couple feet away, but Jessica had the gun aimed at him…he could only hope his reflexes were faster than hers. Without a second thought, he lunged towards Unicron's spark and disappeared inside it. Optimus came over to her side and she looked up to him smiling before she asked, "Can I kill him?"

"As you wish," he replied.

Megatron looked at them with an optic ridge raised and was just about to say something, but tendrils came out of the walls and completely wrapped around the three of them. Optimus watched as Megatron and Jessica were covered completely in tendrils…until they both lost consciousness. Optimus looked towards Unicron's spark enraged as Sideways partially emerged from it. He chuckled in an evil…more sadistic voice, a voice that was not his own. "Optimus," he breathed, "I'll spare you this time…your power is greater than Megatron's…merge with me."

"I shall do nothing for the likes of you."

"Jessica is to merge with me as well…you could be with her forever Optimus, with no one to ever come between you."

Optimus thought about this. He and Jessica, together forever with no one to come between them? How could he refuse? But, if he agreed he'd betray all his friends and what he ever stood for…if he agreed, he'd be helping in the destruction of the universe. But…he had decided a while ago that all he lived for was Jessica…so if he agreed, he wouldn't be doing anything wrong. Would the guilt hang over his head though if he agreed? Sideways—Unicron, whoever he was hadn't said a thing about happiness. Could he be trusted? Optimus knew he had a choice to make. "What about Megatron and Jessica? What did you do to them?" he asked.

"They are prisoners to their minds at the moment. You can only save them if you merge with me."

Optimus looked down unsure of what to do.

* * *

Jessica looked around, baffled as to why she and Megatron were standing on a stage in front of a crowd of thousands. The decepticon leader looked to her with a quizzical look on his face before he said, "I don't want to know where we are…I just want to know why we're here and where Optimus is."

"I've seen this place before…" Jessica mused and then remembered this was a dream she had one time, "I wonder…" And to test her theory she let her optics go offline and thought back to another dream she had and when she let her optics come back online, she saw she was in a bed with Optimus…and Megatron looking at her with the utmost look of shock and surprise on his face. She blushed and quickly jumped out of the bed, Optimus disappeared as she did so.

"I really didn't need to see that," Megatron remarked.

"I really didn't think you would," Jessica replied embarrassed out of her mind, "But I did figure out that we're trapped inside our dreams."

"That's nonsense—

"Do you dream?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I dream!"

"Then think back to one of your dreams, and we'll go there, just so I can prove it to you that we're stuck inside our consciousness."

Megatron looked at her like she was an imbecile and proceeded to let his optics go offline as he thought back to a dream he had. When he let his optics come back online, he found himself sitting in a throne surrounded by his men, and he was ruler of the universe. "Well, I'll be," he said.

Jessica stood before him with her arms crossed and said, "Well, I shouldn't be surprised that you thought of this dream. How do you suppose we get out of here and back to Unicron?"

"I don't know…perhaps we just have to will ourselves to wake up."

Jessica nodded, "That should work…but I really don't think you're going to be able to wake up if we stay here." And she tried to think of a dream that she had that would convince her and Megatron to wake up. She remembered her nightmare about Unicron…he had been destroying Cybertron…and he was going to kill her. But Megatron hadn't been in that dream…until now. She concentrated on that dream, and then suddenly she and Megatron were there. Jessica could feel the chills erupting through her chassis as she watched the dream begin to unfold again. Megatron watched for the first time as Unicron descended from the heavens in robot mode and began ripping up the planet. He then got a feeling that if Jessica and he didn't wake up, they were dead.

He began silently pleading with himself to wake up…Jessica watched him for a moment before she did the same.

* * *

Optimus looked over when he heard Megatron groan and watched as his red optics flared online. He then looked to Jessica and saw as her blue optics flickered online. Relief swept over him as he looked back to Sideways and saw the surprise in his optics. "No!" bellowed the evil, "You are supposed to be trapped in your minds!"

"As nice as the nap was, I think it's time you died," Megatron said back.

He growled, "No matter, I'll just send you back."

While Sideways was distracted, Optimus activated his wrist cannons and blasted himself free. He then promptly freed Jessica and Megatron as well. Jessica saw the Requiem Blaster at her feet and picked it up. She aimed it at Sideways wondering, "I wonder if my aim has gotten any better."

Sideways emerged from the spark and lunged at Jessica, just as she pulled the trigger. The three of them watched as Sideways's small frame was completely torn through in seconds, and he fell to the ground dead. Jessica never felt more relief in her life than the moment she saw her greatest burden dead at her feet. There was no feeling like it…other than her love for Optimus…but her relief quickly faded when she realized something, "Wait a minute, Sideways said he was Unicron, but Unicron's spark is still pulsing."

"Simple," Optimus said, "Sideways was just an illusion…a false body created by Unicron and so that's dead…but not Unicron."

"Let's take out his spark then," Megatron piped up aiming his swing cannon at the spark.

Jessica shook her head and confessed, "I fear eliminating his spark would not be enough to kill him."

"Why not?" the decepticon leader asked annoyed.

"Sideways told me that Unicron fed off evil and that was the only reason for his existence. If we destroy his spark, then he will be back again because he'll have evil to feed off of," Jessica explained, "In order for Unicron to completely perish we have to destroy the source of evil from which he feeds off. Megatron, you have to die."

Megatron looked to the two autobots infuriated, "Die? Do you think I'm willing to sacrifice _myself_ for the _good_ of our race?"

"No," Jessica answered, "So…we'll just have to kill you." And she aimed the Requiem Blaster at him.

Megatron took a step back looking to Optimus for some sort of explanation to her irrationality. Optimus looked him sadly in the optics and said, "I'm sorry Megatron." And he willed his optics offline as Jessica fired the blaster again, hitting the decepticon leader directly in the spark casing to make sure his death was quick and painless. She felt terribly guilty watching as he died since he had never really done anything bad to her, but this was war, and war caused tragedies like these.

Jessica then turned to Optimus, the blaster at her side, and tears in her optics as she whispered, "I can't believe I just killed him like that."

Optimus took her in his arms and held her close to him as he tried comforting her by saying, "It had to be done, Megatron will be honored."

Jessica swallowed hard and said, "I guess that mean's Unicron's the last one that needs to die now."

Optimus nodded and remarked, "I'll do it—

"No!" she shouted looking up at him, "He's cause me so much pain, I'm going to do it. He made me look weak in front of you and for that I can never forgive him."

Optimus cupped her face in his hands after removing his facemask and said softly, "Jessica, you never looked weak to me."

"You had to rescue me so many times—

He placed his forehead against hers, "Don't think you haven't rescued me. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be alive right now."

Jessica smiled, she guessed that was true. Optimus smiled at seeing her smile and kissed her passionately before saying, "Kill Unicron and let's end this war."

She nodded…but a sad expression overcame her face. Optimus listened as the dreadful words left her lips, "Take Megatron's body and go. I fear Unicron will explode when I shoot his spark…and that…and that I won't make it."

Optimus felt his whole world collapse around him, "No! Jessica—

She put a finger to his lips, "I've made up my mind, get out with Megatron's body, now."

He squeezed his optics shut in an effort to keep back the tears, "Jessica, I can't lose you."

And she kissed him with an energy she did not know she possessed. And the kiss seemed to last forever…neither one of them wanting to break it. Optimus held her as close as physically possible, he was afraid to let her go…because he feared he'd never be able to hold her again. And after an eternity of bliss had gone by, they pulled away from each other and Jessica stepped out of his grasp. Blindly, Optimus gathered up Megatron's body and looked to his love one last time before he said, "I love you…so much."

She let a tear fall from her optic as she smiled back, "I love you just as much…if not, more."

He clicked his facemask back on and looked at her long and hard before warping away. Without letting enough time for emotion to set in, Jessica turned to Unicron's spark and fired the blaster.

* * *

Optimus watched from Cybertron's surface as the evil god obliterated…nothing remained of him…just dust. And he couldn't see his Jessica anywhere. He let his optics go offline as he whimpered and tears fell from his optics…and his memory faded back to the time when he had taken Jessica on a date to the beach.

_"Haven't you ever heard about making a wish on a shooting star?"_

_"No, does your wish come true?"_

_"If you truly believe and put your faith into it, it might," Jessica explained, "The only thing is you can't say it out loud or your wish won't come true."_

And Optimus looked up, just as a shooting star streaked its wondrous path across the sky. Silently he bowed his head and made a wish.

A few moments later he lifted his head, and something caught his optic. He zoomed in on it and nearly had a spark attack. He gently set Megatron's body down and warped to the skies to get a closer look at what he had seen.

* * *

Jessica's blue optics flickered online and she saw that she was floating through space. Diagnostics ran through her CPU making her aware of the injuries she…didn't…have. She thought for sure the blast by Unicron would kill her, but possibly, the greatest of evil couldn't scathe the strongest of love. As she read the few diagnostics, she realized she only had scratches and bruises…why…she couldn't figure out. Clearing her throat she slowly sat up…just as she was crushed in a hug by Optimus. His facemask was gone in seconds, Jessica didn't know where it had disappeared to so quickly, and kisses were showering down upon her like there was no tomorrow.

"Optimus," she exclaimed giggling, "Calm down."

He looked at her and she saw the tears on his cheeks. "I thought I lost you," he said softly.

Jessica felt her own tears on her cheeks after he said that, and proceeded to wipe away his tears as she replied, "I guess I'm stronger than I thought I was."

"I never doubted you," he remarked and pulled her into another kiss like the one they had shared inside of Unicron.

Minutes later they pulled away, still floating through space. They held each other close never wanting to let the other go. Finally, after their silence had carried on long enough, Optimus spoke up saying, "Let's get back to Cybertron and enjoy the peace."

_Enjoy the peace._ Jessica never thought she would hear those words ever…but Optimus just spoke them. It was then she realized that if she had never run away, if she had never become a transformer…the war would still be raging now…Optimus would still be buried in his old depressed life…but she had come and managed to save him, while he saved her…and their love had ended the war so that they could truly spend an eternity of love and bliss together. She had no reason to feel guilty for running away anymore.

And it wasn't a possibility anymore…the greatest evil was powerless to the strongest of love. The love of Optimus and Jessica.

* * *

Well folks, I hope you enjoyed this story. Now here comes the moment of truth...the moment I reveal whether or not there is going to be a sequel...and what is the answer to that question? Drum roll please!

Yes I'm doing a sequel...of sorts...you see, I think the title will explain it all...My Life Began With You: Deleted Scenes. I shall go back through this story, comb out all the loose ends and turn them into chapters...so the sequel will be just a few oneshots...but I think it'll be enjoyable nonetheless. I'm going to post the sequel under the M rating, so keep in eye out for it, I'm not sure when I'll post it, but just keep an eye on my profile the next few weeks/month(s). Until then, please review this chappie!


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